Friends reflect on Bill Paul's legacy as London Ontario's town crier
The city of London has lost its beloved longtime Town Crier, Bill Paul, who died of natural causes on Saturday at the early age of 66.
Paul was known for his community involvement, attending various fundraising events, birthdays and parades.
"He was making balloons, he was volunteering for charities, he led the Santa Claus parade, he also, for many years, was involved with the United Nations," said longtime friend, Ed Corrigan.
Apart from his active community involvement, countless people can recall a phone call from Paul on their birthday, he was known to keep books with hundreds of people’s names and contact information in it to ensure he didn’t miss a day.
"No word of a lie, he would be making 5000 calls a year," said another friend of Paul’s, Don McLeod.
His friends called him kind and generous with his time, rarely turning down an event invitation.
His final appearance was about a month ago at a 75th birthday party for three Londoners.
The pandemic was hard for Paul because there were less gatherings and events for him to attend.
With all the downtime this year, he and Don McLeod were working on raising funds to get him a brand new town crier uniform.
"We had part of the gear already put together for him, we just needed to get the robe done," said McLeod.
He adds Paul was looking forward to wearing it to events after the pandemic, hoping to help boost community morale.
McLeod is still hoping to raise enough funds to purchase the robe and fulfill his friend’s wish of having a new town crier uniform.
Plans for Paul’s funeral will be arranged next week.
Those closest to Paul plan on arranging a virtual celebration of life that will be open for the public to attend.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
'Tactical evacuations' underway near Fort Nelson, B.C., as wildfires encroach
The BC Wildfire Service says 'tactical evacuations' began Friday near Fort Nelson, B.C., due to an out-of-control wildfire that has grown rapidly since it was discovered earlier in the afternoon.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.