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Lifelong fan calls out the Buffalo Bills in his obituary

Posted at 11:13 AM, Oct 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-10 12:09:29-04

Lee Merkel, a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan, couldn't resist taking one last, tongue-in-cheek, shot at his favorite team. 

Merkel, who passed away in North Carolina at the age of 83 on Sunday, made sure a specific line was added to his obituary, according to his son Mark.

The line - "Lee has requested six Buffalo Bills players as pall bearers so they can let him down one last time."

Mark says his dad got the idea from a Cleveland Browns fan who added the line to their obituary years ago. 

Lee is survived by his wife, Sharon Riley Merkel and son, Mark A. Merkel (Andrea Creque Merkel) and former spouse, Mary M. Merkel and sons, Carl Merkel (Carol Biedermann Merkel)  Brian Merkel and Lee Merkel (Donna Rossiter Merkel). He is also survived by seven grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

Merkel was a lifelong season ticket holder who used to commute from Utica to Bills home games and attended all four of the teams Super Bowl losses. Merkel will be buried in Bills t-shirt that reads "Just One Before I Die."

“A Super Bowl win never happened in his lifetime but my dad has several grandkids so he never lost hope that they will see the Bills win the big one,” Mark Merkel said. 

 

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