‘Burger Bill’ makes one poignant last stop as Lancaster says farewell

Hundreds of mourners turned out in the rain to pay the poignant tribute to Bill, 65, as the cortege moved down Penny Street and onto Cheapside to pause outside ‘his spot’, before continuing for the funeral at St Mary and St Michael's Catholic Church in Garstang.

“The weather mirrored the feeling yet hundreds braved it to line the route through the city centre,” said Paul Cusimano, who owns Joseph & Co menswear shop in Cheapside.

The Pogue’s Dirty Old Town, Bill's favourite song, was played as the cortege stopped to allow people to pay their last respects.

“Legend was the word I heard the most,” said Paul posting his tribute on the Totally Local Lancaster Facebook page. “Farewell, Lancaster’s friend.”

And as social media platforms were flooded with tributes, there are even calls for a permanent memorial to the man dubbed ‘Burger Bill’ by foodies who came from far and wide to enjoy food and a natter at his Cheapside van.

“It would be nice to have some kind of memorial there on his spot...like a bench?,” said one poster on the Lancaster Past and Present Facebook page. “I bet there's a few local businesses who could produce something like this for him.”

Contributor Greg Hodgkinson said: “Bill has become a bit of a legend in Lancaster running his own business where he is lovingly known as ‘Burger Bill’. Bill always had the time to chat and talk to everyone in Lancaster.

"He enjoyed playing traditional Irish music on his array of instruments and frequently attended the Gregson on a Tuesday evening. He will be always remembered and sadly missed by all his family and friends.”

Another poster added: “Every city has their own local celebrities that without knowing them in person, if you said to your friends, ‘Burger Bill’, they would know instantly who {you were talking about}."

I have seen him in the same spot since I was a child, he will be missed,” they added.

Bill is the much-loved husband of the late Michele, father of Sean and Stephen, grandfather of Laila and Logan, father-in-law of Catherine and Diana, and son-in-law of Joyce. Bill passed away in the Royal Lancaster Infirmary on May 1.