I did not know Bill. However, I am looking to contact someone in regards to a clean up initiative for the Nathan Bedford Forrest Statue. Though, we might not all agree, we should be able to respect each other. I drive by this statue everyday on the way to work and would love the opportunity to clean this statue. Please contact me at knighttess2@gmail.com

friends since 6th grade--there are lot of memories.                                                               Billy you will be missed!          Aubrey Hooper

Bill Dorris and I began to talk on the phone when his x-wife died. Someone informed him I was Mary Lucille Dorris's friend. He called and ask what I knew about her death. We talked for a long time and then he began calling on a regular basis. I then started calling him back. We began a beautiful friendship. We talked in a beautiful way about his church and his friends.  He was very upset that he had lost most of his eyesight and had tried every doctor that he thought would help. Called him one day and someone had entered him into a nursing home and he wanted out.  I found an attorney that would help. Attorney Armistead handled cases for older people. He went home where he wanted. I am so glad that he spent his last days around his home and friends. He said he would never take down the Nathan Bedford Forrest Statue because it was on his private property. He said Nathan Bedford Forrest did not have anything to do with Clan when they began doing bad things. Nathan Bedford did a lot for our country. People just did not know their history.  Bill would send his friends over to help me with anything I was having a problem with. He would not accept payment. I will surely miss Bill. Rest in peace good friend. Virginia Gail Bowling

Sir William Dorris. A man with a plan. I don't think anyone has ever surprised my dad, Glen, the way he did. I'm very thankful he unknowingly backed up all my years of family history research & told my dad how they were related, when he had Dad pull one of the mobile homes for him.its a small world, but he will definitely be missed. 

Bill was married to my Aunt Mary Lucy Jones .  Last time I spoke with Bill was to tell him my aunt had passed away
Rest In Peace Bill 

Deo Vindice Mr Bill, a true southern patriot, RIP.

Dear friends,
It was a sad day 2 learn of the Death of Bill Dorris. We are members at the Church of Christ in Green Hills and I knew Bill from his White hat and neat clothes. As he lost his sight I would see him and visit him near the auditorium . We was delightful 2 talk to about almost anything. After his very short stint at The Nursing home we began taking food from Maxine Hunters Monday Meals. He told me the places he had lived near me and gave me history of his interesting Life. Most recently he told me he gave the meals 2 a friend at the trailer park that needed it. As he time drew near he was concerned about his very close friends. He had others check on them and talked with them frequently as if he knew time was short.
He taught me Life Lessons about how 2 love others, money or no money. He was a brilliant man that engaged your mind so that you wanted 2 come back for a visit. My only regret is that  I met him late in Life. 

Mr. Bill Dorris.  Yes, his name constitutes an entire sentence.  If you had the pleasure (or for some the displeasure) of knowing him then you know there is A LOT just packed into that name.
Mr. Dorris was a friend, a confidant, a shoulder to lean on when all else seemed lost and without a doubt the most entertaining teller of stories you could ever meet.
I first met Mr. Dorris in February, 1993.   I wrote a Business Plan for him when he was starting one of his MANY business endeavors.  We became friends that day and now these almost 28 years later our friendship  on this earth has ended.  I WILL MISS him.  
I later worked for the company Mr. Dorris was putting together when we met.  I was from Louisiana and he was constantly telling me stories of history, of his business ventures, of his travels, of his family history, of people he had met and known in his life.  He told me about a night he arranged for a friend of his with cancer  who was die hard fan of Elvis' to have Elvis attend her birthday party.  He introduced me to Little Ritchie at the Piccadilly Cafeteria that they both frequented and of all the other people that would meet up at the particular restaurant.
We became friend for a multitude of reasons.  We were both members of the Church of Christ and, yes, he told me tons of history of the Church in the Nashville area.  We had similar interests but mostly because we just liked each other and I will carry his memory through the rest of my life.
Yes, as Mr. King said, he helped people.  I saw it many times.  He helped me when I had a business, he drove 500 miles out of his way when he was on a business trip to see me the week after my Daddy passed away.  I received a tremendous amount of comfort just from the hug he gave me that day.
I loved the man for who he was, for things he did and for things he did not do.  I loved that I had such a GOOD friend.  I will miss our frequent phone conversations, our visits, the updates on the news.  I will miss Bill Dorris

Mr Dorris is going to be missed by our community ! He was one of the finest men I knew , Through the years he was always there when I needed him and always had the answer to solve my problems . He was very unique in his own way ! He never met a stranger and always helped those he knew .And many he didn’t .  We have lost a true pillar of the community but his memory will live for ever in the hearts and minds of those who knew him . His long time companion Martha Burton will keep his memory alive for us , I am sure she will miss him dearly. 

I wish to extend my heartfelt sympathy to Jan, and Tommy's children as well as cousins on the loss of Bill Dorris, he will be missed by his many friends.  He  and I were friends for over 50 years, we shared many great times together since I met him and through our association at Granny White Church of Christ for so many years.  Bill was one of the most unique people I will ever know;  I am thankful that I was able to call him my friend.  He had an interest in people and especially in family which one doesn't often find this day and time.  I will never be able to repay the debt of friendship and honor he shared with me and my family through the years.

You, his family, are in my prayers along with so many friends who will miss being able to talk or visit with him here on earth any longer.  May God grant you peace and love at this time for you have lost two great people of your family in such a short space of time.  Again, I am grateful to have been able to call Bill, Tommy, and their parents, Charles and Opel, my friends.
Bill King

OBITUARY

Charles William Dorris

January 31, 1937 – November 24, 2020

Woodlawn-Roesch-Patton Funeral Home & Woodlawn Memorial Park

Show your support

Add a Memory

Share Obituary

Get Updates

Services