William A. "Bill" Soerries passed away Tuesday morning, March 5th. He will be missed by many.
Let it be known, he fought the good fight.
Born September 24th, 1937 to Kaspar and Hilda Soerries, he is preceded in death by both of
his parents and his son Billy.
Born in Werl, Westfallen, Germany, he is survived by his younger brothers Herbie and Klaus,
and their wives Christine and Liesel.
He is also survived by his wife, partner and best friend Duk Soon Duncan Soerries. She will miss
him greatly and is grateful for all the wonderful years they had together. His children, Pattie, Kim,
Ed, Tanya, John, Tony and Elizabeth wish to thank God for allowing them the opportunity to know
this great man. He will be missed by his grandchildren, Melissa, Heather, Stephen, Alexis,
Joshua, Aidan, Robert William, Joseph, Michael, Zackary, and Grace and their spouses Brenna,
Mel, John, and Kristen. He leaves four great grandchildren in Christopher, Anthony, Hayden and
Leo.
In the mines of Germany, as a young man, he began his apprenticeship as an electrician. He
learned the trade well and earned his title of Mine Electrician in 1955.
Bill came to America in the 1950's with his uncle and lived in Ohio until he was drafted into the
United States Army by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. He was a great soldier and served
his country well.
The army brought him to Columbus, Georgia.
In 1963, he became part owner of Chickasaw Supper Club, eventually becoming sole proprietor.
Through his innovations in the nightclub industry such as mechanical bull riding, bringing in live
national entertainment acts (such as The Drifters, JoJo Benson, Tiny Tim, Lou Diamond Phillips,
and The Chippendales), and creating the world famous "Bare as You Dare" Contest, he took a
small private dinner club and turned it into The World Famous Chickasaw, which was the
longest continuously running nightclub in the country until it's closing in 1999. He owned The
Choctaw Grill on Macon Road and The Sportspage on Veteran's Parkway. Throughout the
years, he touched many lives and made many friends.
As a self-professed "Bromeliad Addict", he won many awards, discovered, classified, and
hybridized many species, and was a well-respected member of the Bromeliad Society. A fellow
member of The Society, in Bill's honor, even named one species of Bromeliad after his beloved
wife, Duk Soon.
Among other things, Bill was a conqueror of tasks, a believer in man, a savior to some and an
inspiration to many.
The service to honor and celebrate his life will be held at Striffler-Hamby on Macon Road on
Monday, March 11th at 5pm with a reception for friends and family directly following at The
Sportspage on Veteran's Parkway. The master of ceremonies for the event will be longtime friend
and radio personality Bear O'Brien. All are invited to attend and celebrate.
Bill's family is thankful to all for your well wishes, your generosity and your prayers. We are
accepting flowers for the service and donations to The Columbus Botanical Gardens in Bill's
honor.
Please visit www.shcolumbus.com to sign the online guest register.
Bill's family and friends are grateful to God for sharing this wonderful soul with them.
Thank you to God for welcoming him back into His house.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18