Tributes are paid to Pickering parish priest Father Bill
Tributes have been paid to the former long-serving parish priest of St Joseph’s in Pickering Father Bill East, who died on Wednesday, July 1 after a long illness.
Father Bill, who was 72, spent 11 years at St Luke’s Parish Church in Pallion, Sunderland, from 1983 to 1994 before being received into the Catholic Church along with his wife, Betty.
Father Bill retired from St Joseph’s in May 2018 after 18 years serving Pickering.
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Hide Ad“It was such a sad moment when I heard Father Bill had died,” said vicar general Monsignor Gerard Robinson.
“I spoke to him a couple of days ago and it was lovely to have a chat and for us to give each other a blessing as well and say we would keep each other in prayer.
“Bill was a true gentleman with a quick wit and it was always a joy if I knew that father Bill was going to be on retreat with the diocesan priests.”