Ed earned his high school diploma at Calumet High School in 1931 and then the family moved back to Michigan to live with his Utley grandparents. Ed worked on the farm, in the Civilian Conservation Corps, and as an apprentice draftsman before electing to pursue a career in aviation. He obtained his training and certification in Lincoln, Nebraska before moving to Kansas City in 1940 to begin his career with what was then called Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA).

The family legend is that Ed had a blind date in June 1942, with one of Billie's fellow nursing students, Vi Buchanan, and Vi introduced Ed to Billie. The couple married in Kansas City, Missouri in December of 1942, the start of what would be 50 years of life together.

Over the next decade, they saw much of the world as Ed's work moved them from place to place. During the early war years, Ed trained Air Force mechanics to maintain the North American B-25 Mitchell bomber built in Kansas City. The classroom was at the Greenlease Oldsmobile automobile showroom, which was otherwise empty as there were no new cars for sale during the war.

They transferred to Washington D.C. in 1943 and lived in Alexandria, Virginia, where Ed was a mechanic with TWA's Intercontinental Division, and Billie worked as a nurse. After a brief return to KC after the war, they transferred to Cairo, Egypt in 1947, where the now-renamed Trans World Airlines had commenced operations. In 1949, they moved on to Paris, France, where Ed was stationed at Orly Field as a mechanic for the transatlantic Lockheed Constellation aircraft.

Through correspondence with people in Morganville, an arrangement was made to visit Fèves. Billie and Ed were welcomed like royalty and felt an immediate bond with the village and its people. They were reminded of their Midwestern roots, yet were aware of the people's strength to have endured so much during the war.

Translator Yvonne Bazin and husband Leon accompanied Billie and Ed to facilitate communications. Ed's amateur photography skills allowed him to capture the events of that visit. These images would later help tell the story of the town to the folks in Morganville and to later generations as well. Many of those photos were taken on the Sunday of their visit as the citizens of Fèves were dressed in their finest clothes to attend church services.

Billie distributed candy to the children, but was surprised to see a familiar-looking jacket being worn by one of the girls. She discovered it was part of Morganville’s assistance to the town, but had previously belonged to Billie's sister Lois.

Another visit followed, but in 1950 they returned to the U.S., settling once again in Kansas City where their children Mark, Mary and Amy were born.

In 1959, Ed made his final work transfer. He spent the next 19 years of his long career in maintenance with TWA at San Francisco. Billie spent her time doing volunteer work for the Red Cross and raising their son and daughters. During those years, many a Saturday night was spent watching the slides from Fèves and retelling the stories of that happy time in their lives. Their adventures in Egypt, France, and especially their visit to Fèves, were high points that gave them joy in the retelling to the end of their days.

Billie passed away in 1993, in Vacaville, California, and Ed passed in 2004 in San Jose, California. Their ashes are interred in Clay Center, Kansas, where Billie is again among family and the Kansas she loved, and Ed is with her as he always wanted to be.