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Billy’s Western Wear has been outfitting the Texas hill country in the latest western fashions for 40 years, and through those years the store has become synonymous with quality western wear and accessories.
While you may be familiar with the stores, have you ever wondered who the “Billy” behind Billy’s Western Wear is? Well, it’s not just Billy that is the driving force behind the stores, but rather the Bishop family! And the story behind the stores’ 40 years is actually a lot more than meets the eye. The Billy’s Western Wear tale is in fact a good old fashioned love story: love of God, love of their country, love of each other and love and service to their fellow man.
Billy Bishop and his wife Sarah are both native Texans and currently live in Boerne. Born in 1926, Billy will be 95 this upcoming January 2021. He grew up on his parents’ dairy farm where he remembers helping out by delivering milk. Sarah’s parents were farmers and she was the seventh of eight children, born in 1938. Both Billy and Sarah had to work very hard to help their families growing up. It was a hard life for both of them. After Billy’s 16th birthday, his father died, leaving his mom with two sons. Sarah’s mother died when she was just five years old. These absences left both families with huge struggles just to make ends meet. “I recall having to walk to school without any shoes and being made fun of because our family was so poor,” said Sarah, “Perhaps that’s one of the reasons our stores carry so many boots and shoes in all sizes and price ranges!”
At age 18 Billy was drafted into the Army and served one and a half years in the “Wolf Division” 1st infantry in World War II. According to Billy, “Many of my fellow service men didn’t make it back home to their families. I was always very appreciative for my mother’s prayers. At a young age I developed a great love for my country, for the men and women who enlisted, and the people of our great nation.” After his return from WWII, Billy joined the reserves and was called once again and served in the Korean War as well. After the war, Billy then started working as a civil servant at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas and retired in 1980 after serving faithfully for 36 years!
At age 16, Sarah had to quit school to help support her family, as was expected at that time. She remembers her father was always planting and growing something. Although Sarah had to work to help her family, she knows it helped her to learn the value of hard work and reward. She remembers picking cotton at a very young age. When her father would take the cotton to be weighed and then paid, he would always give her a little bit of money by the amount she picked. “I have always valued the work ethics my father taught me,” said Sarah. After moving from home, Sarah moved in with her sister. She got a job at a garment factory for several years. She was such a hard worker that they moved her to the office to process payroll.
Billy & Sarah met in church. They courted and knew they were meant to be together. It was truly a God-designed marriage and they were married in 1956. The two will celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary this coming February!
While Billy worked at Kelly Air Force Base, Sarah went to school and completed her education and attended San Antonio College, Texas A & M, and International Bible College. Sarah worked her full-time job and took a part-time job as a file clerk at a large food & department store. Little did she know, this would be the opportunity that would change her and Billy’s lives, as well as the lives of their future family. It didn’t take long and Sarah was soon hired on full time and began working her way up. With lots of hard work, sacrifices and many promotions, She was eventually promoted to the Senior Store Manager. This was a distinguishing honor, making history within the company that had over 45 stores throughout the United States. She was the first female to become a Store Manager within that organization.
The collection of their life experiences eventually led them opening a western wear store. The dream had grown from their love of the land they had grown up on and the farm animals that had been such a large part of their lives. “Growing up in the country, Billy and I had been poor, but rich in a heritage of the country life,” said Sarah.
So in 1980, Billy and Sarah, along with their teenage daughter Deborah, opened their first Billy’s Western Wear store. The store was a small 600 sq. ft. “hat shop” in the old McCreless Mall in San Antonio. As they saved up some money, they eventually opened up a boot shop there too. Over the course of the next 12 years, the Bishops opened six larger western wear stores, several kiosks and purchased a distribution center, all of which were located throughout San Antonio.
Billy’s Western Wear opened their first store in Boerne in 1997 in a strip center. Soon after, they opened an even larger 4,365-square-foot store in Kerrville. In 2002, Billy & Sarah purchased 0.9 acres on S. Main Street in Boerne where the first 9,000-square-foot Billy’s Western Wear debuted in 2005. At that time, they moved their offices and distribution center from San Antonio to Boerne. After having designed over six retail locations in San Antonio, it was Sarah’s dream to have the opportunity to design both the Boerne & Kerrville stores. The Kerrville store debuted in 2008 and Sarah’s designs even won the prized award of “Kerrville’s Beautification” city award in 2016.
Along the way, Billy and Sarah have received many distinguishing awards. Some of which are being nominated Business of the Year 2012, Best Western Wear, Best Retail Shop, Best Home Décor, Best Looking Business. Sarah has been a guest speaker at hundreds of events and churches and has been nominated Businesswoman of the Year! In 2019 Sarah was named with the Trademark Woman of Distinction Award. Billy’s Western Wear is also recognized by many top vendors as their number one account!
So what do both Billy and Sarah attribute to their success? According to the Bishops, “First and foremost we credit our faith in God, along with serving and giving to our church, local charities and nonprofit organizations.” In addition, Sarah’s years in management, Billy’s faithfulness in business, their many great employees and finally their multi-generational family that has been working alongside them for these 40 years are all things that have led to the success of Billy’s Western Wear!
These days, the business is run by a whole team of family members. Billy has since retired, but Sarah is still the CEO and works 45-50 hours every week. The Bishop’s only daughter, Deborah White, grew up in the business and has always been a part of the store operations. Deborah recalls as a teen witnessing her parents’ dream coming to life. “It was a total act of faith,” she recalls. “They had no money, no resources, but just a dream, much prayer and a whole lot of hard work. I witnessed first-hand the incredible sacrifices my parents made while building this business.” Deborah’s current role is the Vice President of Administration, and while she has done it all, she has currently settled into the accounting side of the business. In addition, she is still a buyer and does just about anything else needed within the business.
Deborah met her husband, Greg White, in college and he began working part time at Billy’s. After they graduated, they were married in 1988 and Greg joined the team full time. Through many years of working his way up through the organization, Greg now serves as the Vice President of Retail
Operations and has been with the company for 32 years! Greg and Deborah have two daughters and a son-in-law, all who work in various roles within the company. “Billy and Sarah have five great grandchildren under the age of six. We can only imagine the excitement of adding to the family business one day,” added Greg.
The Bishop family is very thankful to all of their customers that have supported them through the years and encourage those that have never been to Billy’s Western Wear to stop in! According to White, “The Billy’s team attends every market to ensure they stay in front of the western wear trends and fashion styles. They strive to offer all the newest styles, while keeping the classics. Billy’s offers the widest selections and styles of western wear merchandise in the hill country!” They have thousands of boots, hats, clothing and accessories for every member of the family and for every budget. Billy’s ecommerce site has customers from all over the United States and even countries abroad.
As Billy’s Western Wear celebrates their 40th year, the stores have evolved through the years, but some things have remained the same since day one. Billy, Sarah, and their family share the same commitment to offering quality merchandise at affordable prices, excellent customer service and a genuine love for God, country and the customers and communities they serve!
To show their customers appreciation Billy’s is giving away a cowboy hat, personally signed by the King of Country, George Strait, to one lucky customer. All you have to do is stop by the Boerne or Kerrville store and register for the drawing during the months of March or April. No purchase necessary.
