Billy is the oldest of six brothers
and sisters. His father, like many of the overworked and underpaid
miners of the time was and alcoholic and spent his income on things
other than the family. During grade school and jr. high Billy receive
plenty of help from the caring teachers of Coalwood. The principal, Mr.
Likens, bought Billy clothes for school, most likely out of his small
teachers salary. Many of the other teachers let him work odd jobs around
their homes and he also worked in the cafeteria to pay for his lunches.
In 1957 when Billy started high school at Big
Creek his father quit his job due to a years old injury receive from the
hazardous work in the mines. Because of this, the family moved from a
nice section of Coalwood to a poorer section of town. Billy had to study
using kerosene lamps because they couldn't afford the convenience of
electricity.
His junior year things were really bad at home.
Football season was over and Billy was now old enough to quit high
school and join the Navy. If Mr. Turner had not stepped in and convinced
him otherwise things might have turned out a whole lot worse.
As it was Billy graduated from high school in
1960. Five days later he, along with Jimmie O'dell Carroll enlisted in
the Air Force together. He receive basic training at Lackland AFB in
Texas. He eventually ended up at K.I. Sawyer AFB in Michigan. He enjoyed
his time in the Air Force and married Rose Marie Barber of Welch, W.V.
They had a daughter, Sherry Ann.
Billy decided it was time to consider college.
With the recent National Student Defense Loan program in place he had
his ticket to a higher education. He spent six months preparing for the
ACT, but fell short on the English portion of the test. Not long after
applying to W.V.U. he received word that he had been rejected. Not one
to give up, Billy wrote to Senator R.C. Byrd and Congresswoman Elisabeth
Kee. Soon he received a letter of acceptance from W.V.U. Billy was soon
hard at work at the School of Electrical Engineering.
Beside every good man is a better woman. At the
end of his second year he got depressed and wanted to quit. Rose Marie
wouldn't hear of it and told him they had to much time and sacrifice
invested for Billy to quit. He heeded the advice and in 1968 graduated
from college.
They moved to the east coast where he worked in
the defense industry in the cities of Philadelphia, Tampa, and
Washington, D.C. They both agreed that this was not where they wanted to
raise a family so Billy found a job designing electronic components for
a coal mining equipment company Virginia..
Billy and Rose Marie live in Bluefield Virginia.
There daughter Sherry Ann died in 1993. They have three grandchildren,
Susan, Kristian and Adam.
Billy is currently the Senior Engineer for
American Mine Research in Rocky Gap, Virginia. He is active in church
and teaches Sunday school at Parkview Baptist Church in Bluefield,
Virginia.
Willy "Billy" Rose