Hundreds mourn friend Bob

Hundreds mourn death of friend Bob

Hundreds of people gathered at Rochdale Crematorium for the funeral of a popular outdoor pursuits worker and talented musician yesterday (Thursday 11 September).

Bob Fell, of Castleton, died suddenly in his sleep two weekends ago and was found by his partner, Sabina Solinas, hours before he was due to play a gig at Queens Park in Heywood with his band.

During the service Bob was described as 'an angel with spiky hair and a briefcase' with 'a heart the size of an ocean'.

Many people had to stand outside the crematorium and listen to the service, as an estimated 250 people gathered to pay their respects.

Mourners paid tribute to Bob's sense of fun and mischievousness and to the compassion that he showed to everybody he met. He was always able to reassure people and put them at ease.

A moving tribute was paid by Bob's 12-year old daughter Lydia, who played George Gershwin's 'They all laughed' on her recorder. Her father had recently led a personal campaign to try and make the instrument more popular, and Lydia won a trophy for a recorder duet.

Bob worked for the Sunsport programme for children with special needs and at Skylight Circus, where he helped to develop youth projects.