On January 26, 2015 funeral services
were held for Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Lt. William “Bill” Soper. In excess of 300 family, friends and agency
personnel attended the funeral services which were held at Grace Brethren
Church in Owings. An escort involving
numerous allied police agencies, volunteer fire and EMS and a motorcade lead
Lt. Soper to his final resting place in Miranda Cemetery in Huntingtown.
Lieutenant
William “Bill” Soper was born on October 1, 1957 in the Panama Canal Zone where
his father was stationed in the Air Force at the time. Bill was raised in Montgomery County,
Maryland and graduated from Thomas S. Wootton High School in 1975. After graduation he attended Montgomery
College where he obtained an Associates of Arts Degree in Criminal
Justice. Lt. Soper then went to the
University of Maryland and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology in
1980.
In 1980, Bill landed a job at the University Park Police
Department as a Police Officer while still attending the University of
Maryland. In 1983, he transferred to the
Rockville City Police Department. During
Bill’s tenure at the Rockville City Police Department he was not only assigned
to the patrol bureau, but spent over three years in narcotics assigned to a
task force working with U.S. Park Police in Washington DC. In 1984, Lt. Soper was nominated for Police
Officer of the Year by the Rockville Chamber of Commerce.
In 1988, Lt. Soper was hired by the Calvert County Sheriff’s
Office. He worked in patrol for one year
and was transferred to the Southern Maryland Narcotics Task Force where he
worked for 3 years. After leaving the
Task Force, Lt. Soper worked in the Criminal Investigation Unit for 9 years and
in 1993 he was promoted to Sergeant. In
2001, he was transferred to the Internal Affairs Unit.
On June 27, 2005, he was promoted to the rank of First
Sergeant and transferred to hold the position of Assistant Commander of the Administrative
and Judicial Services Bureau. In July
2013, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and became the Commander of the
Administrative and Judicial Services Bureau, where he remained until his death. Lt. Soper was a Polygraph Examiner for over 20
years and was currently managing the Bike Patrol Team and Conflict Management
Team. While at the Sheriff’s Office, Lt. Soper received numerous awards
including Law Enforcement Officer of the Year and Detective of the Year.
Lieutenant Soper was married to his beloved wife Molly for
over 20 years. He is survived by a son,
Trevor, a step-daughter, Lauren and grandson, Carter, all of Huntingtown and a
daughter, Christi Milam in Texas. In his
spare time, Bill enjoyed running, motorcycle riding, water sports, snow skiing,
and spending time with his family. He
was a leader and mentor for a Boy Scout troop in Huntingtown for many
years. In 2003 he completed his first
marathon and was proud to receive the Marine Corps Marathon Medal.
Lt. Soper’s grandfather was a Montgomery County Police Officer
for 36 years and retired as a Sergeant. Lt.
Soper was proud to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and serve in the Law
Enforcement community for 35 years. He
will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues at the Calvert County
Sheriff’s Office.
