Long-Suffering Bills Fan Gets Even in His Obituary

Lee Merkel wants players to be pall bearers to 'let him down one last time'
By Luke Roney,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 12, 2018 4:45 PM CDT
Updated Oct 12, 2018 4:58 PM CDT
Man Uses Obit to Troll His Beloved Buffalo Bills
Bill Merkel wants the Buffalo Bills to let him down one last time.   (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File)

Talk about a parting shot. Lifelong Buffalo Bills fan Lee Merkel, who died Sunday at 83, stipulated that his obituary include the line: "Lee has requested six Buffalo Bills players as pall bearers so they can let him down one last time," according to WKBW. Calling it "the old trolling your favorite team from your obituary move," USA Today reports that it's a move that's been done before. Indeed, Merkel got the idea from a Cleveland Brown fan's obit, his son tells WKBW.

Taking the trolling a step further, Merkel, a longtime season ticket holder, will be buried in a Bills t-shirt bearing the words, "Just one before I die." Though Merkel's beloved team didn't win a Super Bowl in his lifetime, "my dad has several grandkids so he never lost hope that they will see the Bills win the big one," his son says. In addition to being a Bills super-fan, Merkel was a member of the Utica Optimist Club, an "avid fisherman," and an Army veteran, according to his obit. He is survived by his wife, Sharon, three sons, and seven grandkids. (More Buffalo Bills stories.)

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