many of u knew Bill Burke as a fine reel builder. he was also a better than fine friend and supporter of mine than all the rest put together. he was beset with a number of serious conditions which just crept up on him, very suddenly. i have been out of the country on business, and was trying to adjust to a 12hr+time zone. 1 of our mutual friends called Robin (wife) to speak to me. URGENT she woke me up and i got the bad news.
i have known Bill for over 40 yrs. we cast all over the world together. 6-7 world tournements, 35 or so national's and more regional's than i can count.
i cant quite get my arms around the fact that he is gone. a BETTER FRIEND couldnt be had. when my 50 yr old reel crashed the day before a national in chicago, i was desperate. Bill said no worry, he just happend to have a lathe and all the tools in his truck. he would make a new part, THAT NITE. Nancy (wife) tole me later he was up till 04:00 making it. fitted in my reel. and went to THE CASTING FIELD ,AT 0:600 to test it. i finished 2nd with a cast of 468 ft with an 18gr plug. no i didn't beat Steve Rajeff.. judges said a ft more and i would have. with out Bill i wouldnt have been in the top 6. At the nationals in San Antone, Texas he built me a new mitchell 300 spool to hold more line, and a steeper angle than the tournament spool Abu had made me. i set a national record of 529 ft which was never broken, i also used a 12 ft pezon michel (?) given to me by Charley Ritz in 1963.
at mine and Robins wedding he and brother Edmon went to a hardware store and bought tons of poly film to walk under and we escaped the church. there never lived a better friend. i will miss him so much. i posted here as i though it appropriate for the Abu board
jjw B.L.Farley call sign "Tall Texan"
Last edited by jjw on 06 Apr 2017, 13:26, edited 2 times in total.
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