CityView Magazine

of the heated backyard pool. An outdoor kitchen makes entertaining easy. It all looks effortless now, but the Bills were involved in every step, from the foundation to the finishing touches. Ray practically worked as his own contractor though he’s quick to credit Jeff Shaw of Ashbrook Building Group for his work as a building consultant. You could even say that Ray knows this house inside out – a hazard of making your living installing utility pipes and preparing construction sites. Ray’s father opened Billy Bill Grading in 1953 with one bulldozer. Now, the company has dozens of employees and a whole fleet of heavy machinery with headquarters on McArthur Road. The Bill siblings work together and even live near each other. They have shared the joys of expanding the business their parents began and the sorrows. Ray’s nephew, Tyler, was killed in a car accident in 2007, just months after he finished high school and started work at the family business. His portrait hangs in Ray and Kim’s new home. Kim likes to tease Ray that it’s been 50-plus years of Billy Bill Grading and still no sign out front. But the Bills don’t need one – everyone in North Fayetteville knows them. Both of Ray’s parents, Jewell and Billy McKinley Bill, are gone. But now there is a neighborhood that bears the family name. It seems appropriate to put down roots in a place like that – a place for a fresh start. A year ago, Ray and Kim Bill filled their living room with folding chairs and flowers. They were surrounded by close family and friends. In some ways, this was a union He comes from a large Fayetteville family. She’s a Fayetteville transplant with two children. When they married, Kim and Ray Bill had an instant and extended family. They needed a house to suit. The result is a home where everyone has their own space, including Kim’s daughter, Alexis Speck, right. between two opposites. He’s quiet and low-key; she’s a talkative and tanned blonde. But by their wedding day, the newlyweds had already built a house together, combined two households and planned a wedding, enough to test the longest of marriages. Now, Kim’s bridal portrait hangs in the foyer, across from the spiral staircase she used for her wedding procession. It’s a daily reminder of vows promised and a hope for happy endings. CV 32|Winter 2008/2009

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