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
Asking rent prices up 9.3% across Canada, Ontario sees only decline: report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
What is basic income, and how would it impact me?
Parliamentarians are considering a pair of bills aiming to lift people out of poverty through a basic income program, but some fear these types of systems could result in more taxes for Canadians who are already financially struggling.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
Mexico's president accuses press and volunteer searchers for missing people of 'necrophilia'
The administration of Mexico's president has accused the press and volunteer searchers who look for the bodies of missing people of 'necrophilia,' comments that drew criticism this week.
WATCH Expecting an interest rate cut in June? Don't bet on it after new jobs data
Canada's labour market rebounded in April, adding more than 90,000 jobs, a staggering number of new positions after four consecutive months of little change.
Out-of-control wildfire burning near Fort McMurray
As of 9 a.m. on Friday, the wildfire burning 28 kilometres southwest of the northeastern Alberta city was 25 hectares in size.
Prince William says wife Kate is 'doing well'
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
'Irate male' assaulted Newfoundland officers with block of cheese, police say
Police in Newfoundland say patrol officers were assaulted Thursday by a "very irate male" wielding a block of cheese.