01/15/2026
In Memory of WILLIAM HENRY DUNCAN, age 82, passed away suddenly on Sunday, January 11, 2026. He is the loving husband of the late Cheryl Duncan (née Gorris); cherished father of Andrea Duncan (deceased) and Charlene Duncan; adored grandfather of Kinsey Duncan-Wilson. William is the son of the late William Sr. and Isabella Duncan, and brother of the late Rita Thornburg and the late Joyce Capabianca. Friends may call at the FERFOLIA FUNERAL HOME, 356 W. AURORA RD. (RTE. 82), SAGAMORE HILLS, FOR VISITATION, SUNDAY, 1-5 PM. Funeral, Monday, 10:00 am, at the Funeral Home. Entombment Brooklyn Heights Cemetery, 4700 Broadview Rd, Cleveland.
William Henry Duncan was born on September 19, 1943, in Bootle, England, to his parents, William Duncan and Isabella Duncan (Jones). He was the baby of the family, besides his older sisters Rita and Joyce. He was a WW II baby; moving from several family homes during the Blitz, his infant room had a bomb go through it, and luckily, he was not in it, though he lost his hearing in one ear from the loud noise. His mother used to talk about standing in lines in the street for food rations while his father was a merchant marine at sea, fighting in the war. She had to protect her three children while hiding in the basement or in fallout shelters. Once the war was over, it took a while for the country to rebuild, but the Duncan family always had food on the table while William’s father worked at Mersey Side Port of Liverpool as a Longshoreman. Billy was an amateur boxer, following in the footsteps of his grandad, Mr. Henry Duncan, who was an amateur sports promoter of baseball, football, and boxing. His mother did not want him to get hurt in boxing, though he still participated with his grandad and father. His grandfather had worked on the docks since 1911, and Billy’s father had worked there too, in Liverpool. His grandad was an ardent trade unionist, a member of the Scots Guards during WWI, and the founder of the “Bootle Amateur Sports Club.” His grandad opened the Stadium for “The Dock Workers Sports Stadium at Townsend Lane in Liverpool. Queen Elizabeth’s husband, Prince Phillip - The Duke of Edinburgh, was there for the groundbreaking of the new sports facility on April 20, 1953. Billy Duncan was pictured with his mother and sisters with his knickers on and a British Flag in his hand, while Prince Phillip used a shovel to plant a tree for the new facility. Billy said that Prince had a great sense of humor.
As a child, Billy used to play with his toy soldiers and play ball with the lads on Aughton Road, the last house he lived in before moving to America to attend high school in Ohio. Billy’s friend Rory Best was the little brother of Pete Best, the former drummer of the Beatles, when living in Aughton; though the Best family lived in Aughton, they attended different schools. Billy attended St George of England Secondary School, and the Best boys attended Blackmoor Park Primary School in West Derby. Rory still played with the lads in his home neighborhood. Billy had a lot of musical friends, though he said, “he could play the triangle well in school,” since he was deaf in one ear. His classmate, who was the same age, was William Howard Ashton, who attended school with him and later became Billy J. Kramer, an English pop singer, with the Dakotas. After Billy came to the USA, his friend Kramer stayed in the UK and worked with Brian Epstein, who managed the Beatles during the 1960s. He scored hits with several Lennon-McCartney compositions that the Beatles never recorded. However, his hit song in the U.K was “Bad to Me” by Billy J. Kramer & The Dakotas, which was a success. William always missed home in Liverpool and the lads he left behind.
William Henry Duncan arrived in New York on May 28, 1956, with his mother, Isabella Duncan. They came from Bootle, England, to meet his father, William Duncan Sr., and his sisters, Joyce and Rita. His sister Rita was already over in the USA, married to an American Sailor with a baby. His sister was a model. actress and beauty pageant winner, later marrying Buck Thornburg, who raced in the Kentucky Derby in 1981. William Henry Duncan was part of the British Invasion that came to Cleveland, Ohio, to settle down with his family. He attended John Adams High School until 1961, though he began working at the Port of Cleveland with his father at age 16. In the UK, students graduate from high school at 16, though Billy attended until 18. His view of history in class differed significantly from his teachers' since he was taught British history in the UK. He loved cars and would always have the best 50’s cars and the decade's most stylish cars. He liked racing them like Grease lightening and had his hair slicked back even in the 1960’s. Then he met his wife, Cheryl Gorris, a street over from his house on Lenacrave Avenue. His stylish charm of a suit, derby hat, and cane at John Adams High School attracted Cheryl to him. Not long after that, William would come over to eat with her family, and his sister Joyce walked the family's bulldog, Shiba, while his sister Rita was in movies and pageants. Cheryl married William at “Epiphany Catholic Church” on October 22, 1965, by Father DiNardo, who later would save William’s life after a motorcycle accident where he witnessed the bike fall apart on the freeway. He put his sweater under William’s head, and later, Billy was pronounced dead at the hospital, though prayer brought him back. Fate let him live for Cheryl and her newborn baby daughter, Charlene, in 1967.
Cheryl learned to make English Oxo Bullion Stew and make many cups of tea over the years. His sister Rita was on a billboard for Salem Ci******es, though she did not smoke. He showed the billboard to his friends from the Port of Cleveland, and they did not believe him. Billy’s older sister always made his life an adventure, from wanting his baby daughter to be in Ivory Soap ads to driving back home with Dale Robinson, the actor from western movies, after someone in the industry almost disrespected her. The married Mr. Robinson was a gentleman and stuck up for Rita. When Samuel Goldwyn Jr. was in town, and his car broke down, Billy and some friends from the waterfront drove him back to Chicago to drop him off at one of his uncle's homes, Samuel Goldwyn from MGM. His uncle let them stay overnight, but never gave them money for the drive. You can say that William’s, aka Billy’s, life was like a movie in one sense. Always a family man, later, when his second daughter, Andrea, was born, he would drive both his daughters to school, piano lessons, singing, skating, dancing, theatre, and modeling jobs. He was always there for his mother, driving her around to the shops. He liked to drive and was a great driver!
William Sr, his father, when not working at the port of Cleveland, would work with Johnny Papke at “Papke Naiman Gymnasium” in Cleveland, Ohio, with the “Lake Erie Golden Gloves Championships” at the “Cleveland Arena.” Billy Jr. met some of the great fighters of that time. It was almost like being in the movie Rocky when his father trained the boxers. Although not a Rocky movie, Rita did get her little brother a part in the 1967 film “The Happening,” starring Faye Dunaway and Anthony Quinn. Billy was at the old Cleveland Stadium outside with his classic car by a phone booth across from the Port of Cleveland. In the final edit of the film, his vehicle and his sister in a bikini made the director’s cut, but sad to say, he did not.
Scraping pennies in their first apartment by the Cleveland Zoo, and later bought a home. Billy loved to build things like a bar, a porch, a workshop, and much more. He was a self-taught carpenter and even made props for his daughter’s shows. When the port of Cleveland split into union and non-union, his father was non-union, and he was a member of ILA #1317 on the opposite side of the dock. The union fought so that he did not have to pick up asbestos from ships in cotton bags, in which it got all over him. Many stories came out of The Port of Cleveland back in the day, but Billy and his dad always went to sports training or back home to their families, just like the family did in Liverpool. When his father passed away from cancer, he continued to work at the port.
Though you could say it was a movie era in Cleveland for sure in those days. From Danny Greene to the ship of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald, he had worked with these lost souls. Back in the day, Billy would show sailors from different countries around Cleveland, Ohio, and take them to reasonable stores to buy souvenirs to take back to their kids and families. Cheryl, his wife, entertained them with dinner, and his daughters received gifts from foreign lands (books, candy, coins). The sailors thought the KFC on the plate was an excellent dinner, as Billy laughed because he had brought people to visit at the last minute, and she could not cook; she could only put the food on plates. She received many compliments as a great cook. Billy loved hunting, the relatives' shooting range, movies, PBS, history books, fish and chips, English candy such as wine gums, biscuits, clotted cream, Cadbury chocolate from the UK, and dressing up for his daughter’s shows. A true Englishman on manners and a stiff upper lip brings a strong person, as the heritage of the Duncan last name always carried from Scotland. Though May 1994 was a tragic year, he lost his youngest daughter, Andrea, age 20, and his mother-in-law, Amalaia Gorris, in an electrical house fire. His tears could fill up more than Lake Erie, for he never really recovered from losing his younger daughter; he stayed tough for his eldest daughter, Charlene, and his wife, Cheryl. Later in life, his only granddaughter, Kinsey Duncan-Wilson, was his delight. He kept on working on the Port of Cleveland to help her with her college accomplishments until he passed away on January 11, 2026. He anticipated her becoming a manager and an entertainment lawyer.
Though the life of a Cleveland Stevedore, aka Longshoreman, is not entertainment, it is tough, with the weather and the need to ensure cargo for ships and trucks is weighed correctly and positioned adequately for transportation. William Duncan would get perfect attendance, a work ethic passed down to him by his father, even in the historic blizzard of 1978; he tried to get his blazer out of his street, but got stuck and could not make it to work. The whole city shut down due to the storm, and he tried to go to work, which shows perseverance. He loved his towmotor office and would do his job with precision and train new hires.
As an animal lover, he found a stray German Shepherd at the port, who became his good friend. He adopted him and named him Rex. The dog would go to work with him every day; he would even ride the towmotor and help with loading ships. WEWS TV 5 filmed Billy for the news with the dog riding the towmotor. One day, a steel coil fell on Rex. Billy and the dockers were very lost without him. On a high note, Charlene, his eldest daughter, got permission to make music videos on ships; he was proud of her accomplishments in the media and entertainment; he was always there for his family and pets.
William had a soft spot in his heart for wildlife and pets. He would rescue foxes, cats, dogs, bunnies, seagull eggs, birds, and wildlife that found their way onto the port. His wife, Cheryl, would give him old bread to feed the seagulls at work. One day, he saw a sick seagull and brought it home to try to help it. Andrea named him Sammy Seagull, though he did not live long; at least the heavy machinery did not crush him on the port.
William Henry Duncan would be the modern-day “Indiana Jones” or the waterfront cowboy, with his hats, and greatly missed by his daughter, Charlene, and granddaughter, Kinsey. Every time they look up into the blue skies and see seagulls on Lake Erie, they know that Billy Duncan’s soul soars, and perhaps with Sammy Seagull. After 66 years of seeing the changes of Cleveland’s waterfront, he is remembered for a legacy of love, ardor, work, and dedication to all he lived for.
