Wilson Dreger III

DREGER, III, Wilson "Bill"

Wilson "Bill" Dreger, III, age 93, passed away on August 25, 2024. He was born in Atlanta, GA, on April 30, 1931, to Wilson and Sarah Dreger. He grew up in the Buckhead area and graduated from North Fulton High School. He was always proud to be called a "Buckhead Boy." He graduated from Georgia Tech, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. He enlisted as a private in the Army Reserves in 1950 and rose to the rank of Sergeant First Class. He was commissioned as a regular army second lieutenant of infantry upon graduating from Tech. He commanded every size army unit, from a rifle Platoon in Korea to a support Brigade at Fort Gilliam, GA. After 39 years of service, both active and reserve, he retired as a Brigadier General. He was President of Dreger Realty Company, which was started by his father in 1932. He sold the company upon his retirement in 1996. He was knighted into the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (Knights Templars) in 1991. He was elevated to Grand Croix, served as Prior of the Holy Rood and his last duty was as Deputy Grand Prior for the Southeastern Region. He was very active in sports, such as golf, tennis, hunting, and snow skiing. He was a member of Kiwanis International for many years and served as President of the Uptown Club. He was a lifelong active member of the Methodist Church. He grew up attending Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, and later, he became deeply involved at Cumming First United Methodist Church, where he served as a Sunday school teacher. In recent years, he attended Roswell United Methodist Church (RUMC). He loved to travel and said he wanted to see everything he had read about in the "Weekly Reader," which he had enjoyed in elementary school. And he did just that.

"Sir," as he was called by those who loved him, is survived by his wife of 57 years, Geri McDaris Dreger; son, Terry Dreger (Kathy); daughter, Valerie Lyle (Bill); four grandchildren, Danielle Daykin (George), Jason Dreger (Mary), Wilson Lyle (Alex), and Sarah Ayers (Brent); four great-grandchildren, Kaleigh Daykin, Cara Daykin, Shiloh Dreger, and Ember Dreger; and a great-grandson, (Baby Ayers) coming in December. He joins his brothers, Garvin (Jim) Dreger and Philip Dreger. He is survived by his sister, Nancy Lee Ham; and many nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held in the near future.

Sir donated his body to Emory for medical research. A military service will be held in Canton, when his remains are returned to the family.

If lieu of flowers, please consider donating to SmileTrain.org or RUMC.com/give.