William Everett Billingsley

BILLINGSLEY, William Everett, 79, a Chapel Hill resident since 1967, was born in Hamlet, N.C. Everett passed away on Monday, December 21, 2009 after a long battle with congestive heart failure. Born on July 9, 1930, he was the son of the late James Marcus and Lula Gibson Billingsley. He graduated with Honors from North Carolina State University in Mechanical Engineering in 1957, and earned a Masters Degree in Commerce from the University of Richmond in 1966. After graduating from NCSU, he began work with the Seaboard Airline Railroad in Norfolk and Richmond. In 1967, he returned to North Carolina and began work with the Physical Plant Division at UNC Chapel Hill. This led to his being appointed by the Chapel Hill Town Council as the Executive Director of a newly created water and sewer system, which became the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA). He served OWASA for 21 years. During which time, he led the drive for the property purchase and building of the Cane Creek Reservoir, which now serves as the primary water source for Chapel Hill and Carrboro. He retired from OWASA in 1996. He was a member of Sertoma Club of the Triangle, Cape Fear River Assembly, American Waterworks Association, University United Methodist Church, and served as President of the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Chamber of Commerce. Everett was drafted into the Army in 1950 during the Korean Conflict and served as a medic in a MASH operation on the frontlines. He was preceded in death by a son and daughter, William Lawrence Billingsley, and Melinda Billingsley Cashwell; his parents; brother, Marcus Billingsley Jr.; two sisters, Carol Griffin and Lois Raines. He is survived by his son, Andrew Everett Billingsley Sr.; daughter-in-law, Claire Sturkie Billingsley; grandsons, Andrew Everett Billingsley Jr., Alexander Stewart Daly, Stephen Cashwell; and his sister and brother, Page and Roy Billingsley. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, December 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Walker's Funeral Home, 120 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, N.C. 27516, 919-942-3861. The funeral service will take place at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, December 30, at University United Methodist Church, 150 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, N.C., 27514, 919-929-7191. Online condolences can be made at walkersfuneralservice.com


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.