Obituary: Former Hurst Mayor Bill Souder

Had this been written 20 years ago, the story of William “Bill” Souder’s life would have been all about the growth of Hurst, the city founded by his grandfather and the city that he loved, Pete Geren, Souder’s friend and former employer, said Friday.

Mr. Souder and his wife, Dodie, worked to build Hurst from a “wide spot in the road” into the thriving city it is today, said Geren, president and CEO of the Sid Richardson Foundation.

But the growth in the Mid-Cities is an old story, and it’s more meaningful to talk about all the friends the Souders made along their way, Geren said.

Mr. Souder, 92, died Wednesday, outliving many of those friends, Geren said.

The Souders put a lot of energy into maintaining their relationships. Mr. Souder’s other accomplishments grew out of his love for people and his willingness to serve them, Geren said.

“They had such a great energy. It was contagious and it was selfless,” Geren said. “Other people just wanted to be a part of whatever they were doing. They knew everyone and everyone loved them. I would go around campaigning with them and thinking that, ‘I should be working for those two.’”

Mr. Souder was born July 23, 1922, in Hurst to Emma Robinson Souder and Richard Jefferson Souder. He was a great-grandson of William Letchworth Hurst, the founder of the city.

He graduated from Carter-Riverside High School in Fort Worth and attended Texas Wesleyan College, now Texas Wesleyan University. But he left for military service in World War II just five hours shy of graduation. He served in France, Germany and Austria.

Mr. Souder finished his degree in 1964 and was appointed the first postmaster of Hurst.

Mr. Souder spent 25 years as postmaster and became president of the Texas Postmasters and helped organize the National Association of Postmasters Federal Credit Union, where he served as vice president.

He was the first chief of the Hurst Volunteer Fire Department. Mr. Souder was one of three men who established the HEB Community Hospital in 1967 and was chairman of the board when it became HEB Harris Hospital. Mr. Souder served on the hospital’s board for 20 years.

Mr. Souder, with his cousin Roger Souder, founded Forest Hill State Bank. Mr. Souder was also a member of the HEB Chamber of Commerce, Northeast Leadership Board and the Rotary Club of HEB.

But most memorably, Mr. Souder was elected to the Hurst City Council in 1975. He served five years before being elected mayor, a position he held for the next 24 years.

In 1989, Geren was elected in a special election to succeed Jim Wright as U.S. representative for the 12th District of Texas. He hired Mr. Souder to run his district office in Fort Worth.

Geren said technically Mr. Souder worked for him, but really was his mentor and was paid so little for his work that he was almost volunteering.

“He was a leader in the banking community, in the business community, in the healthcare community. He was a man who lived life to the fullest and you just can’t think about Bill Souder without smiling,” Geren said. “He was a servant leader.”

Making money was not Mr. Souder’s main purpose in life, according to relatives and friends.

“He loved Hurst,” Souder’s son, Danny Souder, said. “He would walk up to people he had never met and ask them where they were from and when they would answer, Dad would tell them that he lived in Hurst, the greatest city in the world and that they should pack up and move there.”

“My Dad made everything real simple,” Danny Souder said. “His goal was to help people. I don’t think he saw his ventures as a way he could make more profits.”

Hurst City Manager Allan Weegar said Mr. Souder didn’t mind calling on friends such as former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright or Geren if his hometown needed help.

And Mr. Souder never met a stranger, Weegar said.

“It didn’t make any difference where you were, he would know someone in whatever city that you were in,” Weegar said. “If we were on a trip and walking down the street in Austin, he would see an old friend. It was just who he was.”

In addition to his son, survivors include his wife of 72 years, Dodie Souder; two daughters, Dixie Marshall and Billye Fowler; seven grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 8:20 PM with the headline "Obituary: Former Hurst Mayor Bill Souder."