William Phillip (Bill) Cameron died peacefully in Vineyard Haven on the night of April 12, 2016.
Born Jan. 7, 1957, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to John and Amy Cameron, Bill moved to Martha’s Vineyard in 1979 after attending Baldwin High School in New York City and Cortland State University. Bill began his culinary career in the summer of ’79 at the Black Dog Tavern, where he worked for many years, and continued his calling at other Island restaurants, including the Ocean Club, Outermost Inn, and Lambert’s Cove Inn. Cooking was Bill’s creative inspiration, not just his vocation.
Bill pursued many passions ardently throughout his life — mountain biking, soccer, photography — but he developed a love for his favorite pastime, fishing, during boyhood summers spent, homemade bamboo pole in hand, on the docks and beaches of Shelter Island, N.Y., before moving to the Vineyard.
Bill’s favorite places to fish were the shore of Wasque and the stone jetties of Menemsha, and his preferred time of year was Derby time. Though Bill loved the Vineyard, he also enjoyed traveling, and spent several winters cooking in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Key West, and San Francisco.
Bill touched all who knew him profoundly. He will be missed and mourned by his son and daughter, Justin and Samantha Cameron, their mother Heidi BenDavid, his sister Meg Cameron, brother Charlie Cameron, countless friends from his Brooklyn days, and by the Island community, who knew and loved Bill as a thoughtful, gentle soul.
