Bill and Gloria Wasel

Official SPT obit: Wasel, William Robert, 68, of St. Petersburg, died Monday (Jan. 29, 2007) at the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast. He was born in Pittsburgh, and was a boat finisher for Embree Marine Service and Repair. He was a folk musician and former member of the board of directors at SPIFFS. He was vice president of the American Folk Art Society, co-founder of the American Indian Society and was active in the Society for Creative Anacronism. Survivors include a son, William Robert, Jr., and a daughter, Krissanda Newby, both of Pennsylvania; a stepson, Douglas McGregor, Georgia; a stepdaughter, Heather McGregor, St. Petersburg; a brother, John, Pennsylvania; a sister, Ada Mahlebashian, Michigan; and several nieces and nephews. National Cremation Society, Clearwater.

Bill Wasel was organizer of folk fair society, a musician,
and a medieval re-enactor.
By Jon Wilson, Times Staff Writer
February 7, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - A memorial service for Bill Wasel, a musician and medieval re-enactor, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Weedon Island Preserve, 1800 Weedon Island Drive NE.

Wasel, widely known in the Tampa Bay region as a guitar-playing folk artist, died Jan. 29. He battled cancer, friends said, and was 68.

He was one of the first musicians to play at the old Beaux Arts coffee house in Pinellas Park during the folk music revival of the 1960s, said Llyn French, a longtime friend.

Wasel also was an avid listener to other artists' music and sometimes helped judge contests.

Besides folk music, Wasel also picked bluegrass and blues on his guitar. He was one of the organizers of the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society.

One of his other avocations was medieval re-enactment, which he pursued through the Society of Creative Anachronism. Known as [the Honorable] Lord Vassillaskas of the Amber Shores, Wasel was an accomplished knife and battle-ax thrower. He was a member of SCA's Order of Weapons

Masters and was considered an expert archer.

Friends who attend Saturday's service are encouraged to bring an instrument and contribute a song.