Bobbi Biehl, 11-year Weddington resident, owns New Way Custom Homes Inc. She thinks she might be the only female builder in Union County, certainly in Providence Downs South.
It wasn't planned that way.
She and her husband Mike began building the company's first home in Providence Downs South. They started big -- almost 8,000 square feet of big. With a wine cellar, a gym, a theater and two kitchens, the house was completed recently and is part of the home tour in Providence Downs to benefit Habitat for Humanity.
But Mike Biehl wasn't there to celebrate. Almost two and a half years ago, Mike was diagnosed with a rare small blue cell cancer almost two and half years ago.
The family was trying to get fit for their yearly participation in the Susan G. Komen to fight breast cancer when Mike saw blood in his urine.
Apparently the running jarred the tumor in his kidney. A three-day wait for the pathology report led to five days and that turned into weeks. Doctors needed to research it. There were only 144 cases like his in the world. He went to Duke and saw the head of oncology. The family was given hope. Once Mike even had a clear scan. The family bought a boat and spent the summer making priceless memories with the kids.
He battled valiantly, undergoing aggressive chemotherapy while taking phone calls from contractors. "He worked through the whole thing," Bobbi laments.
Mike died in October 2007. He was 46.
Bobbi's two sons, Landon, 16, and Michael, 20, helped her finish the house and get it ready for sale. Daughter Breanna, 23, lives in Louisiana.
The Biehls, originally from Pittsburgh, lived in the Charlotte area for 24 years. At age 40, Mike went to Queens University of Charlotte and got his MBA. He traveled to Europe and Asia. Bobbi encouraged his love for life.
He was a regional sales manager for Pittsburgh Paint and Glass for 23 years, but wanted to quit his job and build homes. So the couple went to Central Piedmont Community College and took general contractor courses. Construction, after all, ran in their blood. Bobbi's father and brothers were involved in construction all of the Biehls' married life.
Mike created the company for Bobbi. They were married a quarter of a century.
"It's hard to believe he's gone." She sighs. "First you'd notice his striking blue eyes." "Bahama blue," she calls them, the same color as the restored Camaro he and son Michael worked on to bring to car shows.
"We met through a mutual friend in high school. We were high school sweethearts. We had the strongest, happiest marriage. He was my everything."
She went on to bring some levity to our conversation: "We never argued because he did everything I asked."
She thinks she may downsize from the home where Mike's clothes still hang in the closet. She has gotten involved in a new church to absorb some of the grief. Son Landon sometimes sits in the cemetery, and Michael is trying to curb the bitter feelings left behind by his father's death.
Once this house sells, she will build her next one using about 80 percent of the contractors she's already worked with. (Some weren't fond of working with a female builder, she says.)
And she will keep Mike's legacy alive. She plans to continue building homes. It was what Mike would have wanted.
For more information on Bobbie and her company, e-mail: newwaycustomhomes@carolina.rr.com. our towns
Drop me a line
If you have something to share about Weddington, I'd love to hear from you. Sari Monaco
E-mail: smonaco@charlotteobserver.com
I welcome photos (make sure everyone is clearly identified left to right). Drop them in the mail or e-mail them as a JPEG file. Be sure to include a daytime phone number. Sari Monaco
