A popular bartender at the Leopards Club in Hamilton has died. Walter Brangman was 64.

A packed house paid their respects to Mr Brangman yesterday at a memorial service at the club on Cedar Avenue.

Mr Brangman, a graduate of the Hotel Training School, was a trained chef and loved to cook, but preferred to work as a bartender and made it his vocation.

He worked at several hotels and restaurants around Bermuda, including Elbow Beach, the Hamilton Princess and the Fairmont Southampton, before he settled at the Leopards Club.

The memorial tribute from the Leopards Club said Mr Brangman was a man who “loved being a bartender”.

The tribute added: “It was a career that perfectly suited his personality. He loved people, made friends easily and had that listening ear that any good bartender requires.”

Mr Brangman was a keen traveller who loved driving and had friends around the world. He had been planning a trip to Manchester, England, to visit his niece, Janay, who was due to give birth on his birthday, and meet his great-nephew, Jace, when he suffered a stroke.

The tribute added: “Hospitality has lost a fine ambassador. However, the Brangman family has lost an irreplaceable gem.

“He will always be remembered and appreciated by all who knew him locally and overseas.”