A funeral service for Bill Sorter, 79, longtime Clinton resident and local business owner, will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, January 21, 2020, in the Kiesau Memorial Chapel in Clinton, OK.

By Mr. Sorter’s personal request, he will have a short memorial service, officiated by his son, Randy G. Sorter. Burial will conclude at the Masonic Cemetery in Custer City, OK, under the direction of the Kiesau-Lee Funeral Home.

Billy Curtis Sorter was born March 18, 1940, to John “Gene” and Hazel (Bellringer) Sorter on the Bellringer family farm northeast of Custer City, OK, and passed away on January 15, 2020 in Oklahoma City.

Mr. Sorter was born and raised in Custer City, Oklahoma. As a young man he worked as a shoe-shine-boy for Rip Van Winkle’s barbershop. He also worked as a soda jerk in the local department store on Main Street. Bill attended elementary school and graduated from Custer City High School in 1958, where he served as his class president.

Shortly after graduation, he moved to Clinton with his family. Bill served in the Army Reserves from 1962 to 1968. He attended Southwestern College in Weatherford for a short time before he started working with his father Gene and his brother Lowell as a concrete finisher.

In 1965 he and his brother and father purchased a local asphalt paving plant and decided to name the new business after their great-grandfather’s cattle-brand, “Circle S.” Mr. Sorter was the owner and president of Circle S Paving, Co, Inc., located southeast of Clinton.

Bill was an avid reader, enjoyed working crossword puzzles, playing golf, and taking road trips across the U.S. He was a long-time member of the Clinton V.F.W. Post and enjoyed spending time with his friends greatly.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Gene and Hazel Sorter; his brother, Lowell Sorter Sr.; his sister-in-law, Margaret Sorter; and his great-nephew, Braydon Sorter.

He is survived by his long-time girlfriend, Mary Griffin of Clinton, OK; his son, Randy G. Sorter of Denver, CO; and several nephews and nieces; as well as many other family members and dear friends.