James Bill

November 13, 1966, Jim Bill was born in Escondido, California. The fifth of the six children of Ramon and Fannie Bill. The family moved to Huntington Beach, California, where Jim began school. The family moved to Kentucky briefly, but returned to Huntington Beach. At age twelve, Jim's father passed away from a heart attack. The loss of his father was something he carried with him. At age fourteen, he met the love of his life: Sonja Hardy. The two were quickly inseparable. Jim also became very attached to Sonja's mother, Jean, who became a second mother to him. While at high school in Huntington Beach, Jim made many life-long friendships. He enjoyed surfing, and was on the high school wrestling team. It was auto shop that he enjoyed most. He was an enthusiast of classic muscle cars, and developed many friendships based on that shared passion. It was at 18 when he met the second love of his life: his 1969 Camaro.

After graduating high school, Jim and Sonja attended college at Eastern New Mexico University. While at college, he and Sonja decided to get married. They had little money, but knew that they wanted to spend their lives together. Friends, and Jim's sister, Deborah, helped to make their wedding possible. After seven years of dating, Jim married Sonja on May 14, 1988. After getting married they moved back to California. Jim's son, Anthony, was born on August 11, 1989. In 1990, Jim began working at McDonnell Douglas, where he built airplanes. He was passionate about his work at McDonnell Douglas. Unfortunately, he was laid off in 1992. That same year, his mother passed away at age 62. Jim was 25.

In 1995, Jim, Sonja, and his son moved to Allen, Texas. He began working at Simplex. At this time, Jim and his son began to study martial arts together at Allen Family Martial Arts. He met one of his best friends here. Always looking for opportunities to provide a better life for his family, Jim left Simplex to work at EDS. While working at EDS, Jim and Sonja were able to buy their first house, which was a dream they had long wanted to fulfill. Jim began working at GTE/Verizon in 2000. At Verizon, Jim made many more life long friends. During this time, Jim took into his home Sonja's nephews. Also, he agreed to house his brother Tom. After discovering that Sonja was pregnant again with his daughter, Jacquelyn, in 2002, they decided to purchase the home where the family currently lives.

After many years of hard work, Jim and Sonja decided it was time to take a vacation with their children to California. They shared their love for the beach with their kids. On their second trip to California the following year, Jim was able to meet with his high school friends whom he hadn't seen in many years. He was able to fulfill a dream of meeting a member from his favorite band Oingo Boingo, and his son was able to play with that band member on stage at a bloc party his friends neighborhood was having. Jim was beside himself with joy that day, and has often reflected on it fondly. Jim began restoring his '69 Camaro in 2008, and enjoyed having many of his friends help him with this dream of his. In 2008, Jim saw his son graduate high school and begin college, and saw his daughter begin Kindergarten that same year. He went on many more vacations with the family in the years following, and they are memories the family cherishes greatly.
In 2012, after twelve years, Jim was laid off at Verizon, but kept in contact with the great friends he had made there. He began working at Capital One in 2013 as an independent contractor. Also, he had recently joined a car club to bond with those who shared his passion in classic cars. Jim's love for his family and friends was immeasurable, and the love for him was equally immeasurable.