Key Points

• Marathon Petroleum employee Billy Sommerville reflects on a family legacy at the company that is five generations strong.

• From early roots in the 1900s to operations today, the Sommerville family story shows what it means to build something that lasts.
• For the Sommervilles, Marathon isn’t just a job; it’s a long-term commitment built on stability, opportunity and family pride.

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For Billy Sommerville, Marathon Petroleum is more than a workplace. It’s where generations of his family have built a legacy rooted in integrity, safety and pride in doing things the right way.

That deep connection spans five generations, reaching back to the early 1900s and continuing today, shaped by those shared values and a strong sense of responsibility that has been passed down from one generation to the next.

“I’ve grown up around this company my entire life,” Sommerville said. “Marathon always felt like home.”

Sommerville is an Operations Supervisor with Marathon Pipe Line (MPL), based in Evanston, Wyoming. While the work and technology have evolved over the decades, he believes the foundation has remained the same.

“It’s always been about the values for us,” Sommerville said. “How we were brought up and how we’ve carried that forward is what makes me proud to continue our family’s story here.”

Where it all began

Sommerville’s family connection to Marathon reaches back to the early 1900s, when his great-grandfather, Ira Jefferson Rayl, worked for The Ohio Oil Company as a district supervisor across Illinois and Wyoming. While historical records from that era are limited, it’s believed Rayl spent much of the 1920s and 1930s helping grow what would eventually become Marathon.

“It’s almost hard to imagine our family’s story here started more than a century ago,” Sommerville said. “When you think about what it must have been like for my great-grandfather all those years ago, it’s a pretty incredible thing to take in.”

From there, the legacy continued with Sommerville’s grandfather, Elijah E. Phillips, who served as a district superintendent in Greybull in northern Wyoming during the 1950s and 1960s.

Then came Sommerville’s father, William D. Sommerville, known as “Butch,” who joined Marathon around 1963 and spent decades working for the company before retiring in 1999. Before that chapter closed, Sommerville followed in his father’s footsteps, beginning his own Marathon journey in 1997 and learning the business from the ground up.

“Joining Marathon just felt right. It felt like continuing something meant to be.”

Sommerville represents the fourth generation in this story. His son, Austen Sommerville, now carries it forward as the fifth, having joined in 2017 and currently serving as an MPL Operations Supervisor in the West Texas area.

“It means a lot to be part of something that’s been in our family for so long,” Austen said. “Growing up, I watched my dad take pride in his work. Now I get to do the same.”

For Sommerville, seeing his son follow in his footsteps brings it full circle.

Built on hard work and a sense of home

Sommerville is quick to point out that this legacy was not built on titles or coincidence.

For the Sommerville family, Marathon offered something steady and real. A place where people matter, where effort is recognized, and where you can build a life while building a career.

“That’s when you realize this is bigger than just one career,” Sommerville said.

“The company’s focus on employee well-being and family has made it a natural fit for us,” Sommerville said. “Joining Marathon felt right. It felt like continuing something meant to be.”

Sommerville carries that forward every day, grounded in the same values passed down through generations and now shared with his son. It also raises a natural question. Will there be a sixth-generation Marathoner?

“We’ll see,” Sommerville said with a laugh. “Only time will tell.”