The Eastern Football Netball League is saddened by the news of Blackburn Football Club Committee Member Mark Wilson’s recent passing.
A statement from the Blackburn Football Club can be found below.
Dear Members & Supporters of The Blackburn Football Club,
It’s with a saddened heart that I inform all that BFC Committee Member, Mark Wilson, passed away peacefully in his sleep while holidaying in Darwin on Saturday Morning.
Affectionately known as ‘Willo’, Mark spent the last 5 years on club committee covering roles such as bar man, game day gate co-ordinator and most recently as our club Covid Officer, which he took very seriously and was instrumental in ensuring our club was following the right protocols throughout the pandemic.
Willo was well known around the club in many ways, his quirky nature made him ‘entertainingly unpredictable’ and he enjoyed banter among many of us whenever possible. One observation I can make is that Willo always had a smile on his face when he walked into the room, most the times with a question for others even before he sat down !!!
This inquisitive nature and resolve to need to know exactly what was going on around the club at all times was sometimes met with a prompt (and sometime colourful) retort by those being questioned, but he always had a laugh as if the say ‘got you this time’….
Willo was also a passionate StKilda FC supporter who regularly chased up some friendly ‘wagers’ with supporters from other AFL clubs around BFC, (particularly Collingwood fans), and he was quick to bet 6 stubbies of beer at any time he could….most of which he had to eventually pay out himself, which was always met with a further bout of uncensored banter from both the ‘payer of the bet and the payee’.
Football clubs are made up of people of many different personalities and from all walks of life. It’s what makes club life so enjoyable and rewarding.
Mark Wilson fits this bill.
He was friendly, entertaining, respectful and a passionate ‘Burner’.
He worked around our club without fanfare, getting the job done at hand, then asking for another task to help wherever possible.
Willo will be missed by many.
Our deepest condolences go out to Mark’s children, Rebecca, Teagan, Mikayla, Jayden and extended family.