Remembered for their contributions to the broadcast industry

*Printed here in order of their publication in Broadcast Dialogue’s Weekly Briefing and including notices from Dec. 2019.

Ron Pumphrey, 87, on Jan. 8. A broadcaster, author and former St. John’s city councillor, Pumphrey was the longtime host of Open Line and Nightline on VOCM St. John’s. Known for fighting for the listener, he briefly changed the name of VOCM Open Line to VOCM Action Line, in an effort to make decision makers more accountable. Over the years, Pumphrey wrote three autobiographies and released three spoken-word albums, including How To Be Happy And Avoid A Nervous Breakdown, From The Voice Of The Common Man and Ha! So You Sleep On Your Belly, Eh, Baby? His last book, The Events Leading Up to My Death, was published in 2010.

Jim Taylor, 82, on Jan. 7. Taylor wrote more than 7,500 sports columns and 15 books over a six-decade career. Best known for his sports coverage for the Victoria Times Colonist, Vancouver Sun and Vancouver Province, in addition to a nationally-syndicated column for the Calgary Sun, Taylor also dabbled in broadcasting. He served as a commentator for CKWX-AM and CBC-TV Vancouver in the 1980s and later was a regular contributor on the Frosty Forst morning show on CKNW-AM Vancouver. He retired in 2001. Taylor was inducted into the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2005, the CFL Hall of Fame, and received the Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jack Webster Foundation in 2010. He was also the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from Sports Media Canada.

Len Chapple, 96, Jan. 2. Chapple began his broadcasting career at CKMO Vancouver shortly before the start of WWII, during which he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. He eventually became an executive producer at CBC Vancouver which afforded him the opportunity to travel for the network, working on the Olympic Games in Mexico City, Munich, Montreal, and Calgary; the first World Masters Games in Toronto and the Goodwill Games in Seattle. In 1978, he led CBC as host broadcaster for the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton. Chapple retired to Victoria in 1990.

Adrian Graham, 66, suddenly on Jan. 1. Graham started his career in the early 1970s at CHCM AM 740 Marystown, an affiliate station of VOCM St. John’s. For many years he hosted the CHCM Morning Show. In the early 1980s, he moved over to VOCM as an announcer. Graham retired in the early 2000s after a more than 30-years in broadcasting. Donations in Adrian’s memory can be made to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Ken Condon, 61, on Dec. 30, 2018. Condon was a radio engineer, working for various radio stations throughout Atlantic Canada over the years, including CJCH and C100 (CIOO-FM) Halifax, and AVR (CKEN-FM) Kentville, NS.

Stuart Adam, 79, on Dec. 26, 2018, of complications from a brain tumour. Adam arrived at Carleton University in 1959 from Toronto and by his final year was editor of the campus newspaper. Upon graduation he spent three years with the Toronto Star as a reporter and desk editor, before returning to Carleton to pursue his M.A. in Canadian Studies and then went on to doctoral work in Political Studies at Queen’s. While still a doctoral student, he began to teach in what was then the School of Journalism at Carleton, and in 1971 joined the faculty as an assistant professor. Two years later, he became the school’s director and served in the role for another 14 years. Along with his teaching and research, Adam continued to work as a journalist, notably as consultant and producer on 10-part CBC documentary series Lawyers; editorial director on Patrick Watson’s CBC series The Struggle for Democracy; and production consultant on CBC documentary “Rights and Freedoms.” In 1987, he took up a two-year post at the University of Western Ontario, where he was Visiting Professor and Chair of the Centre for Mass Media Studies. Shortly after his return to Carleton, he became Dean of the Faculty of Arts and later Provost and Vice-President (Academic). He retired in 2004 and took up a position as Visiting Professor at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in Florida, but inevitably returned to Canada and Carleton. He kept an office in the School of Journalism and Communication until Parkinson’s disease made that no longer possible. In 2015, Nik Nanos, Chair of the university’s Board of Governors, spearheaded the creation of the G. Stuart Adam Graduate Award in Journalism.

Michael Maclear, 89, on Dec. 25, 2018. Originally hailing from the UK, Maclear moved to Canada in 1954 and joined the CBC a year later. During his tenure with the public broadcaster, he travelled to more than 80 countries as a foreign correspondent covering the Cuban revolution, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, and the Cultural Revolution in China, among other big stories of the day. Maclear made several wartime visits to North Vietnam between 1969 and 1972 for CBC and later for CTV, the first western TV correspondent granted permission to travel to the North. In 1963, as CBC’s Far East correspondent based in Japan, he married Yoko (Mariko) Koide, a news researcher whose contacts with newsfilm agency Nihon Denpa News and its Hanoi bureau made a series of exclusive reports possible that also aired on CBS, NBC and were syndicated by The New York Times. Maclear subsequently independently produced 13-hour television history “Vietnam: The 10,000 Day War,” in 1980. Maclear earned an ACTRA Award for Best Broadcaster, three Gemini Awards and was honoured by the Canadian Film and Television Producers Association with a Personal Achievement Award. In 2004, he received the Outstanding Achievement Award at Toronto’s Hot Docs Festival. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2008.

Bert Luciani, 89, on Dec. 22, 2018. The Sault Ste. Marie broadcast veteran worked in television for nearly 40 years, holding positions with Hyland Radio and TV and Maclean Hunter Cable TV. Over the years, Luciani held behind-the-scenes roles from operating a camera to studio set-up. He worked on programs like Lionel McAuley’s Personalities in the News, public affairs and supper hour news broadcasts, and remote broadcasts including Queen Elizabeth II’s 1959 visit to Sault Ste. Marie. Luciani later served as operations manager with Lake Superior Cablevision, where he trained camera operators, directors, and editors.

Bob Service, 84, on Dec. 14, 2018. Service had a lifelong love of radio, airing his first radio show at age 14. He eventually became a broadcast engineer and helped launch CHQM AM 1320 Vancouver in 1959. He went on to a 35-year career at CBC-TV. Service was also an avid ham radio operator.

Neil Arnold, 74, on Dec. 12, 2018. Arnold, whose given name was Neil Waldman, was a longtime news anchor in the Vancouver market. He started at CFUN Vancouver in the mid-1970s, moving on to CJOR Vancouver and then CKWX in the early 1980s. He later anchored for CKO-FM-4 Vancouver.

Doug Cameron, on Jan. 14, at Brantford General Hospital. Cameron had a more than 50 year broadcasting career, retiring from Jewel 92 (CKPC-FM) and AM1380 (CKPC-AM) Brantford in July 2017. Well-respected and liked by his colleagues, Cameron also worked in other markets including Sarnia, Simcoe and Hamilton. Retired to Caledonia, he died in hospital after falling ill just before Christmas.

Mark Elliot (aka Nils Johanson), 65, on Jan. 11 after a short battle with pneumonia. Best known for his long-running late night show People Helping People, Elliot got his feet wet in broadcasting in his teens, working in the control room at Graham Cable TV in West Toronto at the age of 16. His first announcing job came a few years later in 1973 at CHIC Radio 790 Brampton. He would soon move on to CFOM Quebec City, CFRW Winnipeg and then CFRA Ottawa in 1976. Arriving in Ottawa during the heyday of Top 40 AM radio, Elliot soon attained celebrity status. But while his star was rising, behind the popular on-air persona was a sexual-abuse survivor, alcoholic and addict. Elliott’s wake-up call came in 1987 when his boss at CFGO Ottawa fired him and found him a spot in a residential treatment program in Windsor. A sober Elliot quickly found his way back to radio at CKLW Windsor and started counselling other addicts. That led to the birth of his call-in show that combined the two, People Helping People, in 1994. He eventually brought the show to Toronto, first to AM 640 (CFMJ-AM) in 1999 and later CFRB in 2001 where it had a 15-year run. Elliot is also credited with keeping CFRB on-air during the Northeast blackout of 2003, which began to unfold while his show was live, cementing him as the station’s go-to guy to handle breaking news that developed on overnights and weekends. In addition to hosting Nightside five days a week and People Helping People on Sundays, for years Elliot did interventions during the day, tracking down other addicts and helping them to get sober. In 2016, People Helping People fell under budget cuts. Read more here.

Steve Shannon (Castonguay), 71, on Dec. 26, 2018 of cancer. Shannon started his career in the early 1970s doing evenings at CKGM and CFOX Montréal, and from there made stops at 680 CFTR Toronto, CHAM Hamilton, CKTB, CJQR and CHTZ St. Catharines, CHVR Pembroke, CJMO Moncton, CKXL Calgary, CKNG Edmonton and CIMA (now CKST) Vancouver. He also ran a public speaking coaching business for executives in Vancouver. In 2013, he moved to the BC Interior and became the owner of The Bear (CHLW-FM) in Barriere, BC, north of Kamloops. He operated the station until 2017 when he was diagnosed with cancer. Listen to Shannon’s 1973 CFTR Toronto debut here.

Bob Gillies, 84, on Dec. 15, 2018 in Atlanta, of cancer. Gillies started his radio career at CJOR Vancouver in the early 1950s, going on to become the first overnight host at CKWX-AM with the program “Concert Under the Stars.” He then made the move to Montreal, hosting evenings at CKGM and later CFCF Montreal. He was one of the first on-air personalities on CFCF-TV Montreal when the station signed on in Jan. 1961 and co-hosted teen program “Like Young” in its early seasons. He went on to a career as a writer and singer of commercial jingles for radio and television and wrote and performed songs for feature films in Los Angeles, in addition to writing and acting for TV. His credits include Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (1967), documentary Beautiful People (1974) and The Bill Tush Show (1980).

Peter Watts, 68, on Jan. 18, following an aneurysm in December. Born in Kingston, ON, Watts attended Queen’s University, where while studying history and politics, he found himself in the booth at campus station CRFC, while also managing the university football and hockey teams. Watts would go on to positions at CKWS-TV Kingston, hosting news, weather and sports, and host CKLC radio show “Kingston Today.” He arrived at CBC Sports in Edmonton in 1977 where he reported on the Edmonton Eskimos Grey Cup runs and the arrival of Wayne Gretzky to the Oilers. He joined TSN’s SportsDesk as one of the original anchors, starting in 1984. In 1998, Watts landed at the Corus Radio network and 770 CHQR Calgary where he produced and hosted province-wide weekend morning show The Alberta Morning News, which also aired on 630 CHED Edmonton. He would go on to a 20-year run with the show, always signing off with “go out and make it a safe and happy day.” The Calgary Flames paid tribute to Watts before their Friday night game against the Detroit Red Wings with a video tribute and moment of silence.

Marion Schwarz, 92, on Jan. 11 of pneumonia. Schwarz was the host of “The Bubbie Break” on CHEX-TV Peterborough from 1991-96, a show featuring the Jewish grandmother dispensing advice and welcoming guests. Despite the fact, it was slotted against NFL Football on Sunday afternoons, the show flourished. A huge Toronto Maple Leafs fan, Schwarz put in requests to interview players and their grandmothers which led to episodes featuring Doug Gilmour and then-coach Pat Burns. She did the same with the Blue Jays. ”The Bubbie Break – A Grandmother In Any Language Means Love” also aired in a more limited run on The W Network and in some U.S. markets. Raised in Toronto, Schwarz moved to rural Ontario when she married Joe Schwarz of Schwarz Brothers Livestock. In 2011, the Oshawa resident created and voiced an audio book of stories for children based on memories of their farm.

Ernest Tucker, 87, on Jan. 3. Born and raised in Bermuda, Tucker relocated to Toronto at age 14 with his older brother who had won a teacher-training scholarship. He went on to become the first black graduate of the journalism program at Toronto’s Ryerson University in 1954. Unable to find work in Canada, he wrote for the Bermuda Recorder and later The Royal Gazette. One of his pieces caught the attention of an editor at the Toronto Telegram, which brought him back to Canada where he joined the CBC Toronto newsroom in 1961, believed to be the public broadcaster’s first black journalist. Tucker was famously on the desk alone when John F. Kennedy was shot in 1963 and wrote the breaking story that went to air. His quick work ended in a promotion. He later moved to CBC Montreal, covering the FLQ October Crisis, among other big stories of the day, eventually retiring in the mid-1990s. He continued teaching at John Abbott College for a total of 36 years, up until 2008. He authored two books, Underworld Dwellers, published in 1994, and Lost Boundaries in 2004, which tackled the subject of police harassment of black Montrealers.

Ed Jurak, 75, on Jan. 26. Jurak started his broadcasting career in 1963 doing weekends and fill-in at CKLG Vancouver. He moved on to CHTK Prince Rupert, where he became program director in 1967. In the early 1970s, he returned to the Lower Mainland to work at Stoney Productions Recording Studio in North Vancouver. Jurak returned to radio in 1976, both on-air and behind the scenes, as an engineer at CHTK and then held a similar combined role at CKO-FM-4 Vancouver from 1983-89 and CKST Langley/Vancouver from 1991-2002. He retired from the engineering department at CHUM Radio Vancouver in 2004.

Tony Antonias, 89, on Jan. 25. The longtime copy chief and creative director at CKNW Vancouver, Antonias started with the station in 1955. He’s best known for writing the popular Woodward’s Department Store $1.49 Day jingle in 1958 which earned him an International Broadcasting Award from the Hollywood Advertising Club. In his private life, Antonias, who originally hailed from Australia, was an avid supporter of the arts in his adopted home community of New Westminster, BC and was involved in efforts to save the Columbia Theatre heritage building, among other projects.

John Himpe, 38, on Jan. 25 of a catastrophic brain aneurysm. Himpe started honing his broadcasting skills at age 16, while working in community cable in Yorkton, SK. He went on to study Broadcast News at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT). From there, he worked as a reporter and anchor at CJFB-TV Swift Current, and then News Talk 980 CJME Regina, which led to a more than 10-year stint with Rawlco Radio that saw him promoted to APD in Regina, then program director of news/talk and eventually morning show co-host. He did a short stint hosting afternoons with Harvard Broadcasting in Yorkton, before joining 770 CHQR Calgary as a reporter in Jan. 2017. Since April of last year, he’d been executive producing on the station’s talk show side.

James Hendricks, on Jan. 21. After attending Humber College, Hendricks got his start in broadcasting covering municipal affairs for Rogers TV in Toronto. He moved on to Shaw’s NowTV after a year and then landed in Ottawa in 1998. He was a reporter and anchor for eight years with The New RO and A-Channel, before getting caught up in station downsizing in 2006. He pivoted to Rogers TV where he hosted and produced news magazine “Talk Ottawa” and served as a political analyst and special events anchor until 2014. He was also an on-air contributor to the short-lived Sun News Network.

Wayne Bjorgan, 80, on Jan. 26. Bjorgan arrived in Barrie, ON from Saskatchewan in 1961 to work at CKBB 950. Bjoran would stay with the station for three decades, climbing the ladder from news director to general manager of CKBB, CKCB 1400 Collingwood, and CKVR-TV, and eventually president of Barrie Broadcasting. Bjorgan’s community involvement included 10 years helming the Georgian College Foundation. He also served on the boards of the Women and Children’s Shelter of Barrie and Seven South Street Treatment Centre of Orillia.

Bob Picken, 86, on Jan. 30 of cancer. Picken, or “Pick” as he was nicknamed, was a legend on the Manitoba sports scene, both as a competitor in baseball, curling and golf, in addition to his work covering sports. Picken, who grew up in North End Winnipeg, began his career covering midget and juvenile hockey for the Winnipeg Citizen. He worked at CKY Radio in the 1950s and in 1965, joined CJOB as the sports director and started doing play-by-play for the Winnipeg Junior Jets and Canada’s National team broadcasts. He started serving as the voice of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the late 1960s. After moving over to CBC, where he worked in both radio and TV, he was the radio voice of the Grey Cup for 15 consecutive years. Picken was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Manitoba Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association Media Roll of Honour, in addition to the baseball, curling, hockey and golf halls of fame.

Emily Griffiths, 96, on Jan. 30. Griffiths and her husband Frank owned Western International Communications (WIC). The company’s operations included television, radio, specialty television and satellite distribution via a majority interest in Canadian Satellite Communications (Cancom). Operating from 1982 to 2000, the company was acquired by Canwest Global, with a takeover battle seeing Shaw assume WIC’s interest in Cancom. The family also owned the Vancouver Canucks NHL franchise for more than two decades, starting in 1974. Griffiths was predeceased by her husband Frank in 1994, at age 77.

Donald Bruce “Rick” Richardson, 83, on Jan. 22. Richardson entered broadcast sales, following successful careers with the Royal Canadian Navy and Investors Syndicate. He started in sales with CHNS Halifax, moving on to CKGM Montreal, and then sales manager and eventual station manager at CKWW Windsor. Returning to his roots in London, Rick purchased CJOE in 1972, changing the call letters to CJBK and the format to Top 40 hit music. In 1980, CJBK added an FM sister staton CJBX-FM, the first country station in Southwestern Ontario. He also went on to acquire CHOK Sarnia. His retirement years were spent as president of Richardson Investment Corporation, spending much of his time in Nova Scotia and Florida.

David Dubnicoff, 75, on Jan. 20. Dubnicoff was the controller at Moffat Communications, overseeing the CKY Radio and TV divisions in Winnipeg, starting in 1977. He retired in the late 1990s.

Joe Schlesinger, 90, on Feb. 11. Born in Vienna, Schlesinger spent his early childhood in the former Czechoslovakia. As the Third Reich rose to power, Schlesinger’s parents decided to send an 11-year-old Schlesinger and his brother Ernie, 9, to a study program in Britain for Jewish children in 1939. Their parents were later killed in the Holocaust. Schlesinger and his brother returned to Czechoslovakia after the war, where he took a job with The Associated Press in Prague in 1948. In the era of post-war Communism, Schlesinger inevitably ended up in Vancouver in 1950 as a refugee. He took work as a waiter and construction worker before enrolling at the University of British Columbia, where much of his time was spent at the campus newspaper. Eventually that led to a job with the Toronto Star, followed by UPI London, and the Herald Tribune in Paris, before he returned to Canada to work with the CBC in 1966. While he worked his way up to management, Schlesinger made the decision to return to field where he would go on to cover many key events of the 20th century as a foreign correspondent including Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China, the Iranian Revolution, the Contra war in Nicaragua, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Velvet Revolution in Prague, and the first Persian Gulf war, among many others. Schlesinger retired in 1994, but continued to contribute to CBC as a correspondent and occasional columnist for CBCNews.ca until 2015. He was inducted into the CBC News Hall of Fame in 2016.

Mike Cleaver, 72, on Feb. 10, of kidney disease. Cleaver started his broadcasting career in his hometown of Kelowna right out of high school where he developed a passion for radio early on and was part of the Radio Drama Club. From 1961-67, Cleaver worked as an announcer, news reader and engineer at CKOV. From there, he made the move to CJOC Radio and TV Lethbridge, moving on in 1970 to read morning news at CKXL Calgary. Cleaver joined the newsroom at 1050 CHUM Toronto a year later where he’d stay until 1976. That was followed by an eight-year run at CJCA/CIRK-FM Edmonton, before he returned to CHUM as the news and assignment editor in 1984. Cleaver held that role for 10 years, before joining CFRB and later CFTR Toronto, eventually making the move to the CHUM Group in Ottawa in 1999. He returned to the West Coast in 2001, joining CJNW and CKNW Vancouver as a news anchor, up until 2005. He also held roles as a news writer at CTV Vancouver and was an instructor in the radio program at BCIT. He passed just days ahead of his 73rd birthday on Feb. 19.

Harris Sullivan, 80, on Feb. 7 of cancer. Born in Richibucto, NB, Sullivan began his journalism career while still in his teens, spending the summer months in the newsroom of the Moncton Times-Transcript. He joined the paper full-time in 1956 as an editor, reporter and columnist, and by the age of 19 was named news editor. Sullivan moved to Halifax in the 1960s, getting his feet wet as a sportscaster, reporter and producer at CJCH Radio and Television. He also hosted and executive-produced daily supper hour news program “ID.” He went on to work briefly with CFCF-TV Montreal, before joining CBC-TV in 1974 where he spent eight years as a reporter, host and field producer in Halifax and Toronto. In 1982, he joined ATV (now CTV) Halifax as Executive Producer and was eventually named Director of News and Public Affairs. He retired to New Brunswick in 1992, finding a new outlet as “The Bongo Poet.” He published three books of poems: Taking Notes, Voices and Good Intentions, accompanying himself on bongo drums during his live readings. He also released a CD of his live poetry.

Robert ‘Bob’ Bliss Manship, 88, on Feb. 5. Manship grew up in Antigonish, NS and after completing high school and a year at St. F-X University, joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Ultimately his passion for radio led him to  seek out a career in broadcasting with stints at CJFX Antigonish and later CBC, CJCB and CHER in Sydney. With a lifelong interest in electronics, Manship was also an avid ham radio operator.

Lawrence (Laurie) Mills, 80, on Feb. 2. Mills was an announcer with CBC for 35 years, starting in 1964 at CFPR Prince Rupert, BC. He moved to CBC Calgary in 1973. Among the programs he hosted was “Country Style” on CBC Radio One. He retired in 1996 and remained active with a number of volunteer organizations including the Calgary Boxing & Wrestling Commission, Calgary Vintage Motorcycle Group, and the Foothills Bluegrass Society.

Tom Houston, 85, on Jan. 22. Houston was a long-serving engineer with CBC, initially at the public broadcaster’s engineering headquarters in Montreal, before joining CBC Vancouver as a senior technician in 1966. He retired after 32 years with the station. Houston died aboard his sailboat “Toroa,” while moored in Mazatlan, Mexico.

David Zand, 86, on Jan. 20 at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital. Zand graduated in the early 1950s with the first Ryerson Radio and Television class. He initially landed a radio job on-air in Sault Ste. Marie, but returned to Toronto to pursue advertising and marketing. Zand joined Vickers & Benson as the firm’s first sales promotion manager, with clients from Mattel to 7-Up. He later joined Brooks Advertising as vice-president while also teaching Media at Sheridan College one day a week. He went on to form his own company Zand Advertising with clients that included Bulova, Trivial Pursuit, Aurora Toys, Laura Secord, the Heart & Stroke Foundation, and Honda, among others. The business evolved into FC&D Advertising when son Carl and daughter Fern joined the firm, eventually joined by daughter Cindy and wife Rose. Zand built a reputation for quick wit, creative flair and the ability to entertain his clients, who inevitably became friends – among them Bill Evanov of the Evanov Radio Group.

Barry Erskine, 73, on Feb. 14, of complications from dementia. Erskine hosted Sunday morning show “Let’s Talk Gardening” on CHQR Calgary for 30 years, also representing Calgary’s Ward 11 as a city councillor from 1992 until 2007. Erskine was one of the first councillors to raise environmental issues. He served three terms, with the last starting in 2004, winning his seat by acclamation twice. He also ran as an independent candidate provincially in 2008 and took a run at the mayor’s chair in 2010. With horticulture his lifetime passion, Erskine was involved with the Calgary Horticultural Society and Calgary Home & Garden Show. Erskine’s family plans to set up a fund in his name at the University of Calgary for continued research into brain diseases.

Ursula Thomas, 98, on Feb. 11. Thomas was a CBC pianist and accompanist, who appeared as “Paulie” on radio school broadcasts, designed to supplement classes. Thomas also taught singing, organ and piano at Jericho Hill School, a boarding school for the deaf and blind, where she founded and directed Canada’s first blind children’s choir, among other musical endeavours. In 2009, she received the Joyce O. Maguire Award from the British Columbia Choral Federation, in recognition of her long-term service as a choral accompanist.

Phil Menger on Feb. 26, in his sleep. Menger was a longtime BC-based newsman with a career spanning print, TV and radio. After working as an ongoing contributor to CBC Radio, starting in the early 1970s, and writing for the Quesnel Cariboo Observer, Menger made the leap to television at CFTK-TV and Radio in Terrace. From 1980-85, Menger worked both in front of and behind the camera, in news and current affairs. He went on to join the CNW Group (Cision) for more two decades in a sales role. Among his side projects was volunteering at University of British Columbia campus radio station CiTR. A lifelong learner, Menger obtained several degrees and diplomas, including part-time Communications studies at Simon Fraser University, and a diploma in Library and Information Technology from University of the Fraser Valley, in addition to his Arts degree from Northern Virginia Community College.

Ross Crain, 86, on Feb. 24. After graduating from Magee High School in Vancouver in 1950, Crain attended UBC where he found himself more interested in hanging around the University Radio Society, than his studies. Crain dropped out and took a summer job at CKWX which turned into a permanent gig hosting all-night show Concert Under the Stars. In 1955, Crain briefly moved over to CJOR, before returning to CKWX in 1956. Crain and his wife relocated to Montreal in 1960 where he worked at CFCF-TV and Radio, hosting a nightly game show before deciding to go back to school, enrolling in Commerce at McGill University. Crain worked at CFOX Montreal while pursuing his studies. He went on to pursue his MBA at Columbia University in New York and in Oct. 1966, joined the CBS Television Network Market Development Department where he analyzed audience data and wrote sales presentations. The Crains returned to Canada in 1969, settling in Toronto for the next 28 years where Crain mostly held research roles working with CTV, All-Canada Radio & Television, BBM, Calendar Magazines, The Globe and Mail, Adcom Research, and the Newspaper Marketing Bureau. Crain ended his career as a professor in Business Management at Seneca College. He retired to Vancouver in 1997 after 14 years of teaching.

Dick Williams, 100, on Feb. 19. Williams joined CKWX Vancouver as a technician and engineer in 1939. He later worked at CFGP Radio in Grande Prairie, holding a number of technical roles. Williams and his wife Betty retired to Penticton in 1990, and in 2008 moved into the Cherry Park Retirement Residence where he celebrated his 100th birthday in September.

Darren “Dude” O’Donnell, 48, on Feb. 28. A member of the C103 (CJMO-FM) Moncton crew for the last few years, O’Donnell lost a six-year battle to cancer. O’Donnell, who grew up in Fredericton, studied broadcasting at NBCC Woodstock. He moved to Moncton in the early 1990s and earned the nickname “Dude” while working in the local bar and restaurant scene. He eventually started volunteering as the co-host of “Pirate Radio” on C103, which led to more work on other dayparts, even during his cancer treatments. O’Donnell, who was just on-air the weekend before he died, succumbed to a bout of sudden onset pneumonia at Moncton Hospital on Feb. 28, with his family and friends by his side.

Sandra Faire, on Feb. 27. Faire, initially was a producer with CBC Television, where she created and produced a number of variety programs including The Joyce Davidson Show, Video Hits and Comics! She founded her own production company, SFA Productions Inc., in 1997. SFA went on to produce numerous series and specials, primarily for CTV and The Comedy Network, including The Rankin Family Reunion (2008), Rita MacNeil’s Celtic Celebration (1998), Amanda Marshall (1997), and more than a dozen original comedy specials. Faire also produced Canadian comedy showcase Comedy Now!, which aired for 15 seasons, and Comics Inc., on which she served as executive producer, showrunner, story editor and contributing writer. In 2008, SFA Productions produced the first season of reality competition series So You Think You Can Dance Canada, which earned a Gemini Award for Best Variety Program or Series. In 2000, SFA incorporated its own distribution company, Leopard Distribution Inc., which facilitated the sale of Comedy Now! to Comedy Central in the U.S., and Comedy Inc. to Spike TV. Many of SFA’s musical specials were also sold to PBS. Along with her husband, Ivan Fecan, executive chair and producer, Thunderbird Entertainment, and former CEO of the CTV network, the couple were known for their philanthropic activities, particularly in arts and medicine. Their causes included the National Ballet of Canada, Art Gallery of Ontario, York University and Toronto General Hospital.

Michael Webber, 51, on Feb. 26, after a battle with brain cancer. The longtime vice-president of Legal for Rogers Communications, Webber is best known as the legal architect behind several key deals including Rogers’ 12-year, $5.2-billion licensing deal with the NHL in 2013 – the largest media rights deal in league history – encompassing broadcast rights across all technology platforms and languages. At the time, the precedent-setting agreement was called “transformational” by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. Webber also helmed the 2012 Bell and Rogers joint ownership arrangement to purchase a 75 per cent stake in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) from the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, and Rogers acquisition of Score Media Inc. for $167 million that same year. He was named Dealmaker of the Year in 2014 at the Canadian General Counsel Awards. A graduate of St. Andrew’s College, Queen’s University and Western, where he finished his law degree in 1993, Webber joined Rogers in April 2001 as an in-house lawyer after leaving corporate law firm Blakes, Cassels and Graydon. Webber was the first associate assigned to the growing Rogers Media division, managing the legal affairs of the company’s radio, television, and digital assets, in addition to publishing and sports entertainment.

David Brian Smith (aka Brian Scott), 56, on Mar. 12. Scott started his radio career in 1981, working at the original CISS-FM Toronto and Energy 1200 (CFGO-AM) Ottawa. Up until last April, Scott helmed the morning show at 98.3 FLY FM (CFLY-FM) Kingston for the past 13 years, even after and through a 2006 cancer diagnosis. He announced his retirement in November, giving a final interview, revealing the cancer had spread to his brain, affecting his speech and energy levels.

Hellmut Frauscher, 74, on Mar. 4, in Calgary. In addition to his many years at CKXL and CHFM Calgary, Frauscher was chief engineer at CKSO Sudbury in the early 1970s. Frauscher was also an avid ham radio enthusiast and member of the Calgary Amateur Radio Association.

John Mair, 67, on Mar. 4. Mair was a longtime engineer at CKNW-AM Vancouver, starting in 1970 when the station was still based in New Westminster. Mair was one of the last people in the McBride studios when the switch was flipped to the new downtown Vancouver location in 1996. Known for his vast technical knowledge and attention to detail, Mair ensured every board light was working and clock in sync. His time with the Corus Vancouver stations ended in 2005. He was also an active member of the Burnaby Ham Radio Club for many years.

Betty (Phillips) Haworth, 95, on Feb. 22, at Cedarview Lodge in North Vancouver. In her teens, Phillips – a mezzo-soprano – sang leading roles in musicals at Richmond High School, appearing for the first time at Vancouver’s Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) in a 1946 production of Robin Hood and subsequently playing leads in more than 20 TUTS productions. Her radio career began in 1948 with a CBC Vancouver classical series and included regular appearances between 1953 and 1965 on the CBC’s “Leicester Square to Broadway” and “Make Mine Music”; solo, recital and folksong performances, including “Betty Phillips Sings”; and British Columbia school broadcasts. She also did variety work for the BBC. On CBC TV, she sang Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus in 1954, co-starred with Ernie Prentice as “Canada’s favourite folk singers” on folk series “Lolly-too-dum” in 1956-57, and played hostess on “Bazaar” (1965-67). Phillips performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and appeared in Vancouver Opera productions and musical comedy throughout Canada. In 1962, she married actor and writer Peter Haworth, who predeceased her in 2014. In 1976, at age 53, Phillips completed her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from the University of British Columbia. In more recent years, she did 65 episodes of the New Addams Family in which she played the part of Granny Addams. Phillips was a lifetime member of the ACTRA Performers’ Guild, acting in over 40 films and TV series over the course of her career. She was presented with the Sam Payne Lifetime Achievement Award by the Union of BC Performers and is also an inductee of the B.C. Entertainment Walk of Fame.

John Robinson on Mar. 18. A prominent lawyer and business and legal affairs consultant in the Canadian film and television industry, Robinson was instrumental in authoring some of the original collective agreements for Canadian entertainment unions and guilds, including the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA). Robinson joined Alliance Communications in 1986 as the head of Business and Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary. He moved on to Fireworks Entertainment Corporation in 1997 as senior vice-president Business and Legal Affairs and Corporate Secretary. In 2001, he formed Resonance Entertainment Corporation, providing business consulting and legal services to the production community. He was very active in industry affairs, serving on the board of directors, Labour Relations Committee, Tax and Finance Committee, and as chairman of the Lender’s Sub-committee of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, as well as vice-president of the Canadian Retransmission Collective. He also frequently chaired producers’ negotiating committees for both the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) and ACTRA negotiations, in addition to serving on the board of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Dan Blankenship, 95, on Mar. 17. Blankenship was one of the recurring characters on long-running History series The Curse of Oak Island and one of the private island’s majority property owners. Blankenship moved to Nova Scotia’s South Shore from the United States in the 1970s after reading about the fabled Oak Island treasure in the Jan. 1965 issue of Reader’s Digest. He spent 50 years and untold thousands of dollars looking for the treasure. He was often featured on the reality series as the island’s resident expert, appearing on the show since its first season in 2014. His son David Blankenship is also a cast member.

Rob Beck, 73, on Mar. 9. Beck was a 30-year employee of CTV Atlantic/Bell Media. Based in Halifax, Beck first joined what was then CHUM-owned ATV in Oct. 1984 as an account executive. In 1986, he briefly went to work in sales for a local Honda dealership, before returning to the station the following year. Beck worked on both national and regional accounts for CTV and CTV2. He retired in 2015. A dedicated volunteer, Beck lent his time to Diabetes Canada, the Nova Scotia Leadership Prayer Breakfast Steering Committee, Habitat for Humanity, the Halifax Board of Trade, and the Christmas Daddies Telethon, among other causes. He was also active as a senior member of Armdale Yacht Club and the Nova Scotia Mass Choir.

Vera Mary Good, 104, on Mar. 19, at Norview Lodge in Simcoe, ON. Born to a Mennonite farm family in Hawkesville, ON, Good completed Grade 8 and then took a job at Kaufmann Rubber. She completed Grades 9 to 12 privately while working, and graduated Grade 13 at Kitchener Waterloo Collegiate top of her class. She was awarded a $100 scholarship, enough to pay tuition for the one-year program at Stratford Teachers College. Upon graduation, Good took a position teaching in a one-room school in Breslau, but hungry for adventure she signed up to volunteer with the Mennonite Central Committee and went to serve as a secretary in MCC’s India headquarters. After three years, she returned to her studies, earning a degree in Social Work from Goshen College in Indiana and later a Master’s Degree in Education for Gifted Children from Northwestern. That was followed by a PhD in Education from Columbia University. Good eventually returned to Canada and started teaching in Etobicoke where she became the region’s second female principal and first female inspector for the Ontario Ministry of Education. Good was part of the original team that launched educational television in Ontario in 1965 and the original producer of Gemini Award-winning pre-school series Polka Dot Door. She worked with TVO in an executive producer capacity for 15 years. In June of 2010, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Wilfred Laurier University. Legally blind by that time, she delivered the convocation address to a standing ovation. Good’s life is chronicled in 2017 biography The Exceptional Vera Good: A Life Beyond the Polka Dot Door.

Doug Crosley, 83, on Mar. 22, in Oshawa. Crosley grew up in Oshawa and began singing as a child in Sunday school. While working at the local General Motors plant, he won a talent show, and by the late 1950s began appearing on television variety programs like Juliette. He moved to Winnipeg in 1961 to host CBC variety show Swingalong. Following an appearance on the Bell Telephone Hour in New York City, Crosley was signed to RCA Victor and recorded his first album, A New Star In Town. Appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Mike Douglas Show and The Merv Griffin Show followed. He also appeared as himself in several episodes of Mister Rogers. Crosley went on to host his own Saturday evening variety program The Doug Crosley Show on CBC in 1973. He also hosted served as host for the 1980-81 season of Stars on Ice.

Michael G. Wilmot, 66, on Mar. 30, after a battle with cancer. Raised in Napanee and attending high school in Sarnia, Wilmot started in radio in the late 1970s at CKOX Woodstock and then CKGB Timmins. He returned to Sarnia and CKJD in 1978 where he stayed until 1986, when he took a job with CFPL 980 London. Wilmot left radio in 1994, discovering a love of theatre that was sparked after getting dragged to an audition to act as moral support for a friend. He went on to write six full-length plays, four of which were produced professionally. Mainly writing in the field of comedy, his credits included freelance writing for Jay Leno’s Tonight Show monologue and for Kevin Nealon during his stint as the host of Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update. His work has been performed across the U.S. and Canada, Russia,  Australia, Romania, Panama. His short play “Nancy” was published by Playwrights Canada Press in their short play anthology “Long Story Short.” Wilmot parlayed his love of theatre into a business in the late 1990s called Interactions Reality Based Training, which provided professional actors for training scenarios to enhance the realism.

John Clark, 67, on Mar. 27, of cancer. Clark left his studies at Thompson Rivers University early to get into radio, beginning his career in 1970 at CHNL Kamloops. In 1974 he moved over to CKXL-AM Calgary, one of the city’s most popular Top 40 stations of the day, as a production manager and announcer. In 1982, he moved over to helm middays on CJAY 92. He also hosted weekday, syndicated music program “Stereotypes” which ran for seven years. Clark left CJAY in 1993 after more than a decade with the station and went on to a number of roles outside of radio including sales at Long & McQuade in Calgary were he could put some of his experience as a touring musician to use. In recent years, he’d been working as a freelance voiceover talent and in local film and television productions as an extra, including Heartland.

Bobby Gale, 62, on Apr. 12. Radio and music industry veteran Bobby Gale died Friday night following an accident on his way home from a concert in Montreal. Gale, who had called Prince Edward County, ON home for the last 15 years, had been the host of Sunday Glide on community radio station County FM (CJPE-FM) since 2015. Growing up in Windsor, Gale’s first foray into radio was at CJOM 88 Windsor in 1975. Gale quickly moved on to take on swing at 106 FM (WWWW-FM) in Detroit, where he worked alongside the legendary Howard Stern, Dan Carlisle and Jerry Lubin. Stints at CHIQ-FM Winnipeg, CHOM-FM Montreal and Q107 (CILQ-FM) Toronto followed. In 1980, Gale started a decade-long career as the PolyGram promotions and publicity rep for Ontario and Manitoba. He went on to start his own independent radio promotions company plug (MUSIC) Inc. in 1992, and later Global Live Artist Direction (GLAD), providing artist management, media relations and bookings. Read more here.

André Bureau, 83, on Apr. 12 after a battle with cancer. Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Bureau studied at Université Laval and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1959. He later obtained a doctorate in comparative law from the Sorbonne. He started out practicing law in his hometown where one of his clients was the daily newspaper, which was eventually acquired by Power Corporation. He joined Power’s Quebec daily La Presse in 1968 as executive vice-president of Human Resources. He returned to practicing law in 1973 at Bureau, Champagne, Parisien. Telemedia was one of the firm’s main clients and he was appointed EVP at Télémédia Communications in 1976. He became its president in 1980-81, president of Telemedia Ventures from 1981-82, and then president and CEO of Canadian Satellite Communications (Cancom) from 1982-83. He was appointed to a seven-year term as CRTC chairman in 1983, overseeing massive expansion in the Canadian cable, specialty channel and FM radio landscape during his tenure. He returned to law and Montreal firm Heenan Blaikie in 1989, before his mandate was up, and became president of Astral Broadcasting and subsequently chairman of Astral Media. He also served as chairman or sat on the boards of Microcell Telecommunications, AT&T Canada, TELETOON, Family Channel, Radiomédia, Viewer’s Choice Canada, Canal Indigo, MusiquePlus Inc., TV Max Plus Productions and Great Lakes Hydro Fund, and served as president of the Alliance française de Montréal. Bureau received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from France in 1992; was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993; inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in 2004; and appointed an Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 2012.

Terry Hargreaves, 82, on Apr. 5 in Victoria, BC. Born in Glastonbury, England, the youngest of seven children, Hargreaves moved to Canada following WWII with his family and settled in Windsor, ON. Hargreaves started in radio as a weekend newsreader in a volunteer position in Leamington. He would go on to become the CBC’s first Parliamentary Bureau Chief and later led Radio Canada International, the CBC’s shortwave service. In retirement, he lived in St. Petersburg, Russia; Kazakhstan and Mongolia as the spouse of Canadian diplomat Anna Biolik.

Fitzroy Gordon, 65, on Apr. 30. The founder and CEO of G98.7 (CKFG-FM) Toronto, Gordon is credited with bringing radio reflective of the city’s Caribbean community to the airwaves. Born in St. Andrew, Jamaica, Gordon arrived in Canada in 1979. His first foray into radio was on multicultural station CHIN where he started hosting a midnight to 6 a.m. call-in show that earned him the nickname “Dr. Love.” He also took turns as a cricket writer for the Toronto Sun and as a co-host on The Fan 590’s (CJCL-AM) World Sports Report. He left CHIN in 1998 and started work to obtain a broadcast licence to serve Greater Toronto’s Caribbean and African communities. The proposed frequency, 98.7 FM, was met with opposition. Milestone Radio, the founder of urban station Flow 93.5 (CFXJ-FM), also had concerns about duplication. After three weeks of testing in 2010, the CRTC finally gave Gordon’s Intercity Broadcasting Network approval to use the frequency over the objections of CBC, Rogers Media, Astral Media, Bell Media and Durham Radio. G98.7 went live on Nov. 28, 2011. The last two letters of the station’s call sign – CKFG – are a permanent tribute to its founder. Read more here.

Jason Botchford, 48, on Apr. 28, of apparent heart failure. Botchford grew up in Aurora, ON. After graduating from Western University, he entered the advanced journalism program at Centennial College in Toronto, and began his journalism career at the Toronto Sun. He joined The Vancouver Province in 2005 and quickly moved from news into sports, covering the NHL and Vancouver Canucks. His post-game Provies Report, which debuted during the 2013-14 season, became one of the paper’s most popular posts. After 13 years, Botchford left The Province in the fall of 2018 to join The Athletic Vancouver. He was also a longtime contributor to TSN 1040 (CKST-AM) and TSN’s That’s Hockey. Read more here.

Don Taylor, 75, on Apr. 24. Taylor started his career in radio in Portage La Prairie, MB in 1966. He went on to work in North Battleford, SK, before landing at Golden West Broadcasting’s flagship station CFAM Altona, MB where he worked until 1997 as the longtime overnight operator, among other roles. Taylor retired to his hometown of Minnedosa, MB in 2009.

Doug Linn, 79, on Apr. 20 in Chilliwack. Linn was on-air at JR Country (CJJR-FM) Vancouver as part of the morning show from 1985-87. He then signed on as one of the original voices on Star FM (CKSR-FM) Chilliwack, retiring in 1996. In addition to his love for radio, Linn was an artist and cartoonist, using his talents to create logos and cards, among other work.

Glen Livingstone, 66, on May 6, after a short battle with cancer. Livingstone was a board operator and producer with 980 CKNW and Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) from 1972 to 1999. Many of those years were spent as one of the writers and producers behind the successful “Discumentary” program, a one-hour musical documentary featuring a particular artist or theme. Voiced by Dave McCormick and later Terry David Mulligan, the show was syndicated throughout Canada, and broadcast internationally on the Anik D satellite.

Joe Meyer, 85, on Apr. 18 at Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, following complications from dementia. Born in Fairview, AB, Meyer began working as a reporter for local newspaper The Post, before embarking on a 35-year career in radio, starting at CKYL Peace River, then onward to CFCW Camrose, CKRD Red Deer, CKRC Winnipeg, and on and off at CJCA where he concluded his career in Edmonton. In 1962, Meyer left Canada for some adventure where he sailed to New Zealand, met his wife Mert and became a father. He eventually returned to Canada and settled the family in Fort Saskatchewan for 13 years before moving back to Edmonton. In addition to being a respected newsman, Meyer was also an accomplished piano, organ and guitar player.

Richard Byrne, suddenly, on Apr. 5, in Toronto. A pioneer in digital audio for radio, Byrne formed MediaComp in Kitchener in the early 90s, developing software, hardware, and digital systems including R-Sound (Music Scheduling), R-Tabs (Traffic) and OG (digital playout audio), to start. Byrne was an early visionary of the idea of putting an entire music catalogue on hard drive. His tech caught the eye of RCS out of Scarsdale, NY, which was trying to move their paperless Master Control system to digital audio, and RCS eventually acquired MediaComp. The CHUM Group was an early adapter of Byrne’s technology, in addition to stations like Montreal’s CKOI.

Walt Buehler, on May 11 of cancer. Buehler was instrumental in his role as the sound engineer on three decades of Edmonton Oilers radio broadcasts, first for CFRN Radio and later for 630 CHED. Buehler helped bring the voices of play-by-play broadcasters and analysts like Rod Phillips, Ken Brown, Dave Semenko, Morley Scott and Bob Stauffer to listeners.

Maurice Foisy, 86, on May 10. Foisy started his career at CKEN Kentville in 1950. He would go on to work at CFAB Windsor, NS, CJCH Halifax, CBC Sydney, NS, and then CBC Radio and TV in Halifax. Foisy eventually was lured to the West Coast by CHQM Vancouver founder Bill Bellman and helped launch the station, where he served as VP of Programming and afternoon drive host for more than three decades up until 1993. He later landed at CKST in 1993, before retiring from broadcasting in 1995. In more recent years, he’d been a volunteer with Voiceprint Canada reading books for the visually impaired.

Bruce Bedford, 69, on May 7. Originally from Montreal, Bedford graduated from electronic engineering in 1972 and started out working in the RCA Tuner Lab and RCA Systems. He was involved in the design and installation of sound systems at Olympic Stadium, Velodrome, and the Olympic Swimming Pools, and designed and supervised the installation of the Communication and Translation systems for the International Civil Aviation Organization building. He and wife Maureen moved to Edmonton in 1977 where he designed and installed communication systems for Yellowknife, Tuktoyaktuk, Norman Wells and other northern communities. Bedford started his broadcasting career in 1980 in Edmonton at Sunwapta (CFRN 1260) where he was chief engineer and later 100.3 The Bear (CFBR-FM). In 2007, he retired and he and his wife moved to BC’s Comox Valley.

Bruce Fletcher, 68, on May 6, suddenly from a heart attack. Fletcher worked in the B.C. film and television industry for three decades. Based in Gibsons, BC, he was the best boy for 32 episodes of The Beachcombers on CBC Television between 1988 and 1990. He went on to work in the lighting and camera departments on other series including Northwood and Edgemont.

Dave Bookman, 58, on May 21, in hospital following a brain aneurysm in early April. Bookman, who spent his early years in Ottawa listening to rock radio and dreaming of being on the airwaves, joined 102.1 The Edge (CFNY-FM) Toronto in 1991, which kicked off a 21-year stint with the station as host of The Indie Hour and in later years afternoon drive. In 2013, he joined new station Indie88 (CIND-FM). A fixture on the local music scene and champion of independent music, he was also the host of long-running, weekly live music showcase Nu Music Night at the Horseshoe Tavern. Bookman was presented with the Unsung Hero Award from the Canadian Independent Music Association in 2018.

Christine Crosbie, 52, on May 19, following a short battle with cancer. Crosbie spent over a decade with Global News Toronto from 1997 to 2007, holding roles including morning show co-host, reporter, weather anchor and producer. Prior to Global, she worked with CTV Toronto. She left journalism behind in 2007 and began a career in communications that included time with the Ontario Science Centre and for the last five years at Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) University. Crosbie also sat on the board of directors of Epilepsy Toronto from 2007-11. Crosbie died almost a year to the day she lost her husband in a bike accident in Leslieville on May 16, 2018.

Mark Campbell, 59, on May 18 of cancer. Campbell was a donor, board member and volunteer announcer at community station County FM (CJPE-FM) Prince Edward County, ON. The Bloomfield resident, who had worked in the family business at Canadian Tire before embarking on a second career as a registered optician, had been the host of the station’s Friday afternoon show for the last five years. He also served as honorary chair of County FM’s recent radiothon in late April. Following his diagnosis with stage 4 lung cancer in January, a crowdfunding campaign resulted in sizeable donations to Hospice Prince Edward and the Prince Edward County Memorial Hospital Foundation, in his name.

Deane Cameron, 65, on May 16, of a sudden heart attack. The longtime president and CEO of EMI Music Canada, Cameron made history in 1988 when he became the youngest Canadian president of a major music label. Starting out as a drummer in the band Harvest with Tom Cochrane, Cameron began working in the warehouse at EMI in 1977. He worked his way up the ranks to vice-president of A&R, signing acts that included Corey Hart, Luba, The Rankin Family, Kim Stockwood, Alfie Zappacosta, The Watchmen, I Mother Earth, and Johnny Reid, among many others. Cameron was president and CEO of the label from 1988 to 2012, when EMI was acquired by Universal Music. Since Sept 2015, he’d been president and CEO of Toronto music venues Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall. An anti-piracy advocate and voice for the advancement of Canadian artists and music, Cameron was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2010 and was the recipient of the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award at the 2011 JUNO Awards. Cameron also served on the boards of the Canadian Country Music Association, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS), and was crucial in helping develop music education charity MusiCounts.

Jocelyne Blouin, 68, on May 27, of cancer. Blouin started her career as a meteorologist with the Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC) in 1974 in Edmonton, also participating in local Radio-Canada broadcasts. She was transferred to Montreal with MSC in 1976 and was offered a part-time position as a weather presenter with Radio-Canada television two years later. She committed herself full-time to television in 1980. After 33 years with the public broadcaster, Blouin retired from Le Telejournal in June 2011. It’s estimated she delivered over 15,000 weather forecasts over the course of her career. In 2016, Blouin and fellow meteorologist Jean-Charles Beaubois launched the Blisly app which predicts how the weather might affect your health, including asthma, allergies, and migraines.

Sarika Sehgal, 42. Sehgal, who had a career that took her from CICI-TV Sudbury to the network anchor desks at CBC Newsworld and CTV News Channel, had left journalism behind in the last 10 years to become the founder and director of the Khel Centre for Creativity & Inner Peace, a creative and spiritual retreat near Erin, ON. After graduating from Humber College, Sehgal had a meteoric rise starting as producer on a national morning show in Toronto before stints at CTV News Sudbury and A-Channel in Edmonton. Within a year, she joined CTV Calgary (CFCN) to co-produce and anchor the station’s noon-hour newscasts. She then landed in Hamilton to executive producer and co-anchor for CH News. In 2003, Sehgal returned to Toronto to co-anchor Toronto Tonight on Toronto 1 (CKXT-TV). Following the show’s cancellation in 2005, she joined CBC Newsworld as host of one-hour current affairs and news program CBC News: Today, also taking turns hosting CBC News: Tonight and CBC News: Around the World. She left the public broadcaster in Aug. 2007 to travel the world on a soul-searching journey that would take her to 15 countries. She joined CTV News Channel in late 2011. In a manifesto Sehgal wrote for the Khel website, she explained her decision to walk away from television saying “Like so many North Americans, my entire identity and ego were tied to my work. And that happened for nearly 20 years.” Read more here. A memorial will take place June 7 at 2 p.m. at the Bellfountain Village Church in Caldeon, ON.

Gord Kidder, 74, on May 22. A graduate of Mohawk College, Kidder had a long broadcast sales career that included 17 years with CHUM Radio, and seven years with CFRB-AM Toronto. He became a partner in Muskoka Information Radio in 2011, serving the South Muskoka Region. A resident of Port Sydney, ON Kidder was named for an uncle who was killed while a PoW at Stalag Luft III during WWII. He was in the Czech Republic to take part in 75th anniversary ceremonies around The Great Escape, in honour of his uncle, when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and fell into a coma. He never regained consciousness. Nearly $100,000 was raised to airlift Kidder back to Canada that included matching donation pledges from Gary Slaight, president and CEO of Slaight Communications, and former CHUM Group chairman Jim Waters. Read more here.

Garfield Ogilvie, 61, on Jan. 31, in Las Vegas from pancreatic cancer. Ogilvie started his broadcast sales career at OZ FM in St. John’s, NL, in 1980. He moved on to CJSB Ottawa in 1982 and then Urban Outdoor Trans Ad in Toronto where he was director of Eastern Canadian sales. He forayed back into radio in 1995, becoming the general sales manager of the CHUM Radio Group in Kitchener (CKWW and CFCA) and later spent several years vice-president of business development with the Radio Marketing Bureau. In 2000, Ogilvie joined Clear Channel Outdoor as vice-president of national sales, based in Toronto. That was the start of 10 years with Clear Channel that would see him move to Chicago, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, and Dallas-Forth Worth with the company. For the last eight years, he’d been director of sales and marketing for PGA Tour facility TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. 

Louis Potvin, 95, on June 2 in Squamish. Potvin left school at age 15 to follow his passion, finding a job at a local radio repair shop that paid him $3.50 a week before starting his own business. With the outbreak of World War II came the demand for radio communications people and after training at Sprott Shaw Radio School in Vancouver, Potvin joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. Age 17 at this point, he trained as a wireless operator and radio repair technician. According to his autobiography Louis’s Place, which was published in 2001, his morse code was 30 words a minute by the time the war was over in 1945. Potvin married a fellow wireless operator and returned to B.C. working as an installer and repairing radiotelephones on ships and in camps. Settled in Lillooet Lake, he would have a mink farm, sawmill company and property development business, before taking a job marketing B.C.-built VHF equipment to developing markets like Cuba, Japan and Latin America which afforded him introductions to the likes of Fidel Castro and Che Guevera. In 1981, he and his second wife Carol fulfilled a long-held dream to have his own radio station Mountain FM (CISQ-FM) Whistler, the Sea to Sky corridor’s first radio station. Potvin formed Mountain Broadcasting Ltd., authorized to operate on 104.9 MHz with an effective radiated power of 2,400 watts, with subsequent approval for rebroadcast transmitters at CISE-FM Sechelt, CIPN-FM Pender Harbour, CISC-FM Gibsons and CIEG-FM Egmont. CISQ was sold to Selkirk Communications in 1989. Potvin was also heavily involved in the Squamish community, particularly the Rotary Club, and was a founding member of the Squamish Golf & Country Club.

Nonnie Griffin, 85, on June 7 in Toronto, of an aortic aneurysm. Griffin studied voice, speech and drama at the Royal Conservatory of Music, taking to the stage at the Red Barn Theatre in Jackson’s Point, ON at age 16. She’d go on to study with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and mime artist Marcel Marceau. By the 1950s, Griffin was a staple on CBC Radio, appearing on Canadian Short Stories and Ideas. On TV, she appeared as Diana Barry in the original televised production of Anne of Green Gables in 1956. Other TV credits include lending her voice to animated series like The Care Bears and Racoons, in addition to guest appearances on shows like Bizarre, King of Kensington, Forever Knight and Kung Fu: The Legend Continues. She also appeared in feature films The Believers, The Abduction, Good Fences, A Husband, a Wife and a Lover and If You Could See What I Hear. Later in life, Griffin began writing her own parts, performing as six different characters in “Sister Annunciata’s Secret”, which had a run at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Hamilton Fringe Festival. She also staged “Marilyn – After” in 2014, a one-woman show imagining what Marilyn Monroe’s life might have been 50 years after her death. It played at the SpringWorks Festival in Stratford and went on to win Best International Show at the 2015 United Solo Theatre Festival in New York City. Griffin was planning a return to the stage in “Before Scarlett” in which she would have portrayed Gone With the Wind author Margaret Mitchell.

Hunsdeep Rangar, 43, suddenly of heart failure, on June 7. Rangar was 11 when his family moved to Canada, landing in Mississauga and Montreal before settling in Ottawa. Rangar developed a passion for Ottawa and sharing South Asian culture. In addition to organizing marquee socio-cultural events like Ottawa’s annual South Asian Fest, Rangar was host of the Mirch Masala and Bhangra Nation programs on multicultural radio station CHIN 97.9 FM.

Sean McCann, 83, on June 13. Born in Windsor, ON, McCann studied to become a priest at St. Peter’s Seminary in London before deciding to turn to acting. McCann would go on to appear in over 150 television series, feature films and stage productions. Among his better known roles, he appeared alongside Nick Nolte in Affliction (1997), Meryl Streep in TV movie …First Do No Harm (1997), Chris Farley in Tommy Boy (1995), and Peter Weller and Judy Davis in Naked Lunch (1991). In 1999, he won a Gemini Award for Best Guest Actor in a Series for Power Play and was twice-nominated for Best Performance in a Pre-School Series for Noddy as Grandpa Noah Tomten. McCann also received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role on Canadian TV series Night Heat, which aired from 1985-89. He was honoured with an Earle Grey Award in 1989 for LIfetime Achievement in television acting. Outside film and television, McCann served as a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays and served on the board of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He also made a brief foray into politics, running unsuccessfully for the Liberals against Progressive Conservative MPP Roy McMurtry in 1979.

Rev. Sterling Gosman, suddenly, on June 13. Gosman had a 33-year technical career working behind the scenes at CBC New Brunswick, also serving as a Fredericton City Councillor, auxiliary police officer, and former president of the Convention of Atlantic Baptist churches, over the years. After retiring from the public broadcaster in 1997, Sterling and his wife moved from Fredericton to Kentville, Nova Scotia. He subsequently graduated from Seminary at Acadia Divinity College in 2007 with a Bachelor of Theology. He was ordained at New Minas Baptist Church in 2008. Gosman is survived by his wife Anne and their three children, Rev. Dr. Neville Gosman, Teah Gosman-Odinga, and soprano Measha Brueggergosman.  

Douglas McIlraith, 83, on June 6, after a short battle with esophageal cancer. McIlraith started in radio while still in highschool at CJBQ Belleville. He moved to Vancouver to be closer to his sister Lois which led to stints at CFUN and CJOR and later CKOV Kelowna. In 1961, he joined CBC Edmonton where he worked in both TV and radio. McIlraith ended up marrying fellow CBC Edmonton colleague Beatrice Lamond and transferred to her hometown of Winnipeg in 1967 to start raising a family. McIlraith travelled to cover many major events for the public broadcaster, including the 1976 Montreal Olympics. He retired from CBC Winnipeg in 1990 where his last role was co-host of CBC Information Radio.

Harv Kroeker, 74, on June 30, of cancer. Kroeker was the longtime voice of news on Golden West Broadcasting’s Radio Southern Manitoba network, including CFAM 950 Altona, AM 1250 CHSM Steinbach, and CJRB 1220 Boissevain. Kroeker worked with the station for more than four decades, starting in the 1960s, and anchoring network news for many of the region’s definitive events over that time. Based in Altona, Kroeker was passionate about recognizing local veterans and involved in establishing the cenotaph in downtown Altona. He was one of the recipients of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.

André Jobin, 80, June 30, in Montreal. Born in Quebec City, Jobin spent several decades as a reporter for TVA and LCN. In addition to covering the National Assembly for TVA, Jobin also frequently reported on Montreal court proceedings.

Eileen Franke, 89, on June 6 in West Vancouver. Originally from Saskatchewan, Franke worked as a secretary and bookkeeper before becoming one of the first women to venture into broadcasting. Franke started her career at at CHCT-TV Calgary in 1956 where she worked as the host of children’s show Junior Clubhouse, in addition to producing other shows. In 1960, she moved to CFCF-TV Montreal as a production assistant and joined Radio-Canada International in 1964. Franke worked with RCI in Montreal and Toronto before she transferred to CBC Vancouver where she worked as a producer until her retirement.

John Harada, 65, on July 15. Harada worked at numerous stations over the span of a 35-year career, starting out in radio at his high school station – Raider Radio – at Erindale Secondary School in Mississauga. That led to on-air stints at CKWR Waterloo, CFGO Ottawa, Mix 99.9 (CKFM-FM) Toronto, KOOL FM (CFCA-FM) and KFUN FM (CKKW-FM) Waterloo, SUN FM (CKUL-FM) Halifax, 104.7 Heart FM (CIHR-FM) Woodstock, and The Fox 99.9 (CFGX-FM) Sarnia. For the past three years, up until eight months ago when he started hosting mornings stateside at The New SRQ (WSRQ) in Sarasota, Florida, Harada was the voice of afternoon drive on community station 88.7 The River (CIWN-FM) in Mount Forest, ON. In addition to radio, Harada also did freelance voiceover work and produced several television shows for Rogers TV, including “John Harada and Friends.” He counted former CHUM announcers Mike Cleaver and Brian Thomas among his mentors. Read more here. 

Bill Luxton, 92, on July 13. Born in Toronto to English parents, Luxton’s family returned to London, where he joined the British Army at 18 in 1945 and volunteered for the Forces Broadcasting Service. Training as an operator and announcer, the military took Luxton to Germany and Libya, and after his discharge, he returned to Canada in 1948, landing a job as a junior announcer in Port Arthur, ON (now Thunder Bay). Luxton was later accepted to Lorne Greene’s Academy of Radio Arts which led to work with CKWS Kingston. When CJOH-TV Ottawa was started in 1961, Luxton was called for an audition. He would go on to work with the station for 27 years as a host and actor. Luxton was known for playing Uncle Willy on children’s show Willy and Floyd, which ran for 22 years, and serving as the announcer for The Amazing Kreskin, in addition to hosting a daily magazine show, among other roles. In retirement, Luxton read to kids at Broadview Public School and sang with the Grey Jazz Big Band.

Leo Sabulsky, 67, on July 10. As chairman of the Chetwynd Communications Society, Sabulsky obtained the first “Class A” community radio licence in Canada in 1997 for CHET FM. He went on to spearhead the launch of CHET TV and CHAD FM (now known Peace FM) where he hosted weekly radio show, Leo & Friends. In addition to being an educator for more than 30 years, Sabulsky was a longtime volunteer firefighter and served as Chetwynd Fire Chief from 1994 until he retired this past June.

Hodan Nalayeh, 43, on July 12. Born in Somalia, Nalayeh emigrated to Canada with her family at age six. She went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Windsor and later studied broadcast journalism at Seneca College. Working in radio and television in both sales and production, in 2013 she was named vice-president of Sales & Programming Development of Cameraworks Productions International, based in Vaughan, ON – a full-service video and television production facility focused on distributing multicultural programming. In 2014, Nalayeh served as host of half-hour Somali community show Integration: Building A New Cultural Identity, which aired on Citytv. More recently, she’d been hosting English-language show Integration on OMNI Television. Nalayeh and her husband were among 26 people killed in a terrorist attack in Kismayo, Somalia on July 12.

John Plul, 79, on July 8. Plul served as the promotions manager for CKNW Vancouver for 25 years, helping raise millions for the station’s Orphan’s Fund charity, in addition to helping establish Canuck Place, a hospice for terminally ill children. Plul also served in the provincial government of W.A.C. Bennett as Deputy Tourism Minister under Grace McCarthy. Among the initiatives that department helped launch were the first B.C. Film Office, in addition to a Cruise Ship Centre. In retirement, Plul continued to serve the community as a governor of the CH.I.L.D. Foundation, established to fund research for children with Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and liver disorders.

Marjorie Valentine Waters, 98, on July 5. The wife of late CHUM founder Allan Waters, the pair were highschool sweethearts and married in 1942. Marjorie acted as a receptionist at CHUM for many years and later served as a company director. CHUM was sold to Bell Globemedia in 2006.

Ing Wong-Ward, 46, on July 6 from complications from colon cancer. A Ryerson Journalism graduate, Wong-Ward joined the CBC in 1993 and went on to a 23-year career with the public broadcaster contributing to both radio and TV. On the television side, she hosted The Disability Network, and was a researcher and producer for Newsworld and The National. At CBC Radio, she spent 15 years behind the scenes as a producer with CBC Toronto Metro Morning, Here & Now and Fresh Air. Born with spinal muscular atrophy, Wong-Ward was also a disability advocate and was recognized with the City of Toronto Human Rights Access Award in 2004. She left CBC in 2016 to work with Toronto’s  Centre for Independent Living as its associate director.

Elie Savoie, 84, on June 28. Savoie started his broadcasting career in the 1960s, holding a number of positions with CFCR-TV Kamloops (now CFJC), and as a production assistant for CHAN-TV. He joined CBC Vancouver in 1964, leaving to take a program director position with CBC Regina in 1977 and then director of television for CBC Windsor. He returned to CBC-TV Vancouver as PD in 1983 and went on to Program Project Development. Savoie notably served as a director and executive producer on long-running series The Beachcombers. He retired from CBC in 1991, going on to consult and teach Media Studies at Capilano College.

Gil McCall, 83, on July 29, at Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake, BC. McCall was one of the original on-air personalities on CKCQ Quesnel, BC, joining Cariboo Broadcasters in 1958 after moving to the area from Edmonton. He was quickly promoted to program director and later station manager in 1979. McCall moved north to manage CJCI Prince George in 1982 and was recognized that same year with the B.C. Association of Broadcasters’ Roy Chapman Memorial Award as Broadcast Performer of the Year, one of the first small market broadcasters to receive the honour. In 1987, he moved again to CFFM-FM Williams Lake to both manage station and take an on-air role. McCall retired from radio in the 1990s.

Gabe Khouth, 46, on July 23, of cardiac arrest in Port Moody, BC. Born in North Vancouver, Khouth and his brother Sam Vincent started acting in the 1980s as Vancouver’s film industry was taking off. Khouth was best known for his role as “Sneezy” on locally-shot ABC series Once Upon A Time, along with roles on Supernatural, MacGyver, 1990 Stephen King miniseries IT, ABC TV movie Santa Baby, in addition to feature films like Ernest Goes To School. He was also an accomplished voice actor, lending his voice to animated series like Fruit Ninja, Hot Wheels: Battleforce 5, and Beyblade Burst. Khouth, who suffered from a congenital heart defect, died following a motorcycle crash in Port Moody.

Susan Woods (nee Fisher), 66, on July 20 in Victoria after a fight with cancer. Woods started her 30-year broadcasting career with BCTV Vancouver in 1974, moving over to News 1130 (CKWX-AM) as a reporter in 1976. She went on to report for CKVU-TV from 1982-89. In 1989, Woods moved to Victoria and became editor and publisher of magazine the Fairfield Moss Rock Review. She also hosted and produced local history program “Remember When” for CFAX 1070 Victoria. Airing from 2003 to 2010, the show earned her a B.C. Heritage Preservation Communication Award, as well as a Victoria Woman of Distinction Award.

Rodney Merritt, 67, on July 15 in Yorkton. Merritt was a sales representative with CTV in Yorkton for nearly 40 years. Dedicated to both his clients and the community, Merritt earned several awards over the years, including his induction into the Yorkton Sports Hall of Fame and Canadian Broomball Hall of Fame. He was also a Canadian 9-ball billiards champion. Watch CTV’s tribute to Merritt here.

Leigh Kelk, 76, unexpectedly on July 17. After graduating from Ryerson University in 1964, Kelk embarked on a long career as a broadcast advertising executive. He started as a junior buyer for OgiIvie and Mather, moving on to work as a radio rep at Stoven Byles, then Stephens & Towndrow, and later Paul Mulvihill for many years. He wrapped up his career working in sales for Global TV, retiring to New Hampshire in the fall of 1999. He was married in 2000 to Linda, a former sales assistant at Stephens & Towndrow that he had kept in touch with, and together the pair owned and operated the American Plate Glass Company. They sold the business and returned to Toronto in 2013.

Carmel Kilkenny on Aug. 13. Kilkenny grew up in Toronto, but after a year living abroad in Paris, she made her home in Montreal. Kilkenny graduated from Concordia University in 1988 with a degree in Communication Studies and Journalism, and went on to work with CBC/Radio-Canada. Among the roles she held were anchoring Quebec’s late-night TV newscast, in addition to reporting and guest-hosting a daily program for CBC Radio that was broadcast internationally on RCI shortwave. That led to her producing ‘The Link’ – a program featuring stories and interviews with immigrants to Canada. Since 2012, Kilkenny had been freelancing, including contributing to the Radio Canada International website.

Monica Miller, 64, on Aug. 11. Miller got her start with CKUA Radio Edmonton in 1977 as a library assistant. She would go on to work with the station for four decades, holding roles including writer, assistant producer, arts coverage producer, and eventually host. In a post to the CKUA website, senior producer David Ward said Miller’s “curious, playful musical taste” was combined with hours of careful research and planning. “Because of that she brought a reverence and dedication to her work…It also meant that she had an ear for quality music, often overlooked music, and depth that delved across genres with strong flavour of jazz and world music.” Miller is also credited for bringing that attention to detail to the CKUA database to help the station run smoothly, even while off on medical leave. Penning her own obituary, Miller said of CKUA: “that for 40-odd years allowed me to play, learn, experiment, and share the magical world of radio with unsuspecting listeners, while having the opportunity to meet, work with, and learn from the best of the best. Viva CKUA!”

Barry Mercer, 66, on Aug. 11. Mercer began a career with CBC Radio in 1972 as a summer relief announcer in Goose Bay, NL. That led to a 35-year career with the public broadcaster, much of that time as a reporter and host at CBC Radio Sudbury where he landed in 1985. Mercer served as host of long-running afternoon show Points North, co-host of Radio Noon, and reporter for Morning North, before retiring in 2006, however he continued to be heard on the airwaves as a fill-in announcer.

Jack Hagerman, 92, on Aug. 8. Hagerman began his career in radio in 1946 at CFQC Saskatoon. As the legend goes, he stepped off the train in Edmonton in May 1949 and landed a job at CKUA Radio within hours. Worthington would go on to work with the station for more than 70 years, holding roles from host (under the on-air pseudonym of John Worthington), sports announcer, program manager, and by the mid-1950s station manager. In a 70th anniversary tribute on the CKUA website, Hagerman is credited with defining the station’s sound with the hiring of young, creative announcers with a deep love of music, including Bill Coull, Gill Evans, and a young Robert Goulet. Hagerman was also instrumental in expanding the station’s reach, establishing a 10,000-watt transmitter in 1960 and later FM transmitters across the province. Hagerman semi-retired in the 1970s, continuing as host of big band show The Old Disc Jockey.

Howard Lapides, 62, on Aug. 1 after a battle with colon cancer. Hailing from the Village of Kenmore in Erie County, New York, Lapides got his start in radio at age 16, as a post-game host on Buffalo Bills broadcasts on WSYL-FM, using the pseudonym Michael O’Shea. He went on to attend Emerson College in Boston, while producing “The Steve Fredericks Show” for WMEX and working on-air part-time at WEIM Fitchburg, Massachussetts. Lapides landed at Baton Broadcasting in Ontario after graduation where he worked at CKLW Windsor and CFGO Ottawa. After five years, Lapides went on to work in concert promotion, teaming up with Michael Cohl and Donald Tarlton, and later became owner of the Yuk Yuk Comedy Clubs in Buffalo and Rochester. After forming Lapides Entertainment in the early 1980s, he began managing clients that included Carson Daly, Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla, Tom Green and Dr. Drew Pinsky. His creative credits include consulting on CTV talk show Open Mike (hosted by Mike Bullard); was executive producer of VH1 reality series “Celebrity Rehab”; Comedy Central’s “The Man Show”; developed MTV show “TRL” for Daly; and produced Tom Green- directed feature “Freddy Got Fingered.” He was also a regular visiting professor at USC, UCLA and Emerson.

John Ansell, 93, on Aug. 16.
Ansell started in radio part-time at CKOV Kelowna in 1940, following high school. After serving for a few years in the army, he was hired by CJVI Victoria as an announcer in 1945. He joined CKWX Vancouver a year later as an announcer, rising through the ranks to program manager and eventually operations manager. In 1968, he was appointed General Manager of sister station CFAC Calgary. Ansell returned to Victoria in 1971 as President and GM of CJVI. He took early retirement in 1987, continuing to serve as Chairman of CJVI’s Advisory Board until 1995. Over the years, Ansell served as chairman of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters board of directors (1981-82), earned Broadcaster of the Year accolades from both the BC Association of Broadcasters and the Broadcast Education Association of Canada, in addition to the CAB Gold Ribbon Award. Ansell was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame in 1990.

John Wishart, 75, on Aug. 10.
Known for his versatility as a host, Wishart helmed programs on CJIC Radio and TV in Sault Ste. Marie in the 1960s and early 1970s, in addition to time with local stations CHAS-FM and YES FM (WYSS-FM). He ended his career at CBC Radio.

“Hunky Bill” Konyk, 88, on Aug. 13.
Born in North Winnipeg, Konyk worked at Canadian Pacific Telegraph before heading to Chicago where he reinvented himself as a freelance sports reporter interviewing the likes of Mickey Mantle, Bobby Hull, and Yogi Berra. Konyk returned to Winnipeg in the late 1950s and joined CKY Radio. He uprooted his family in 1966 to make the move to Vancouver and CJOR. In l967, CFUN made him General Sales Manager. While juggling the role, he also started importing Ukrainian food from Winnipeg and after landing a booth at the Pacific National Exhibition on a bet, the “Hunky Bill” empire was born. 2019 would have marked Konyk’s 53rd year at the PNE. Hunky Bill’s Perogie Maker was also a smash success, driven by the popularity of Konyk’s television commercials.

Frank (Zbigniew) Sasin, 68, on Aug. 8.
Sasin started in radio at his college station at the University of Western Ontario and went on to work at a local commercial station before moving to Ottawa in the late 1970s. At CFGO, he briefly did all-nights to get comfortable with the board and later middays before moving to afternoon drive. In 1979, Sasin hosted National Air-distributed program Countdown Canada, which was heard on stations coast-to-coast. He headed west in the mid-1980s, joining CFR Calgary and later CKWX-AM Vancouver where he also hosted nationally syndicated evening program Lovin’, Lyin’ or Leaving. When CKWX flipped to an all-news format in 1996, Sasin returned to Ottawa to work in the sports department at 1310 News, moving on to Jewel (CJWL-FM) a few years later. Over the course of his career, he voiced hundreds of commercials, educational training videos, and corporate narrations. In recent years he also took to the stage, acting in productions with Kanata Theatre and Ottawa Little Theatre.

Gord McDougall on Aug. 22. A 1990 graduate of the Radio and Television Broadcasting program at Algonquin College, McDougall started his radio career with Rideau Broadcasting right out of school, as a reporter and anchor for CJET and Q101 (CKBY-FM) Smiths Falls, ON. In the fall of 1991, he moved on to the newsroom at then-Rawlco stations Majic 100 (CJMJ-FM) and Energy 1200 (CFGO-AM). After eight years, he joined CFRA radio where he was an anchor and reporter for 12 years. McDougall was one of the casualties of a significant group layoff at Bell Media Ottawa in Feb. 2012. Most recently, he’d been working with the Canadian Traffic Network (CTN).

Bryan Stone (Ghidoni), on Aug. 23, suddenly of a heart attack. Stone spent the bulk of his career in Winnipeg, arriving at CFRW 1290 in 1980 from CKLW Windsor. Stone served as news director in the 1990s and later became general manager of the CHUM Group stations in Manitoba, including CFRW and Q94. Clay Young and Tom Milroy shared their memories of working with Stone on CJOB Winnipeg.

Kerry Marshall, on Aug. 26, after a short battle with brain cancer. Marshall was a well-known morning co-host and news voice on CKLG-FM, CFOX-FM, JACK FM (CJAX-FM), and more recently Roundhouse Radio (CIRH-FM) in the Vancouver market after starting his career with CHUB Nanaimo in 1969. Marshall spent nearly 28 years with CKLG-FM through its call sign change to CFOX, beginning in 1974. Serving as news director and morning show co-host, Marshall worked alongside hosts like Greg Collins, Terry David Mulligan, and Humble Howard. In 2002, he followed morning show team Larry Hennessey and Willy Percy over to Rogers’ JACK FM. Marshall was eventually part of layoffs in 2012 with Larry & Willy’s subsequent contract dispute leading to the dissolution of the morning show. Marshall resurfaced at Roundhouse Radio from 2015 to 2017 as senior news editor and morning news reader. Most recently, he’d been co-hosting the Prattcast podcast with sports radio veteran Dave Pratt. Read more here.

Kerry Stratton, 66, on Aug. 27. Growing up in Belleville, ON, Stratton’s interest in pursuing conducting was spurred by hearing Leonard Bernstein on the radio. He went to hold posts with the Prince George Symphony Orchestra, the Georgian Bay Symphony, North York Symphony (which developed into Toronto Philharmonia), and the Toronto Concert Orchestra. Stratton was known to listeners of The New Classical FM (CFMZ-FM) Toronto as the host of programs The Oasis and Conductor’s Choice. After a 2018 ALS diagnosis, Stratton stepped down from hosting The Oasis last November, but continued to host a Sunday afternoon show.

Pierre Nadeau, 82, on Sept. 3, of Parkinson’s. Born in Montreal, Nadeau grew up dreaming of a career in radio. He got his start at CJBR Rimouski and went to work with CBC Montreal. In 1957, after getting married, Nadeau left the public broadcaster for a year to work as a reporter with the Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF) in Paris. He returned to Radio-Canada in 1962 and was hired as host of television program “Camera.” Nadeau went on to serve as Paris correspondent for several years, returning again to Montreal in 1968 where he hosted radio shows “Le monde maintenant”, “Le téléjournal”, and television program “Le 60.” He eventually made the move to TVA in the early 1980s where he hosted and produced several variety shows, including L’Événement magazine, before he returned to Radio-Canada. In 2001, he published his autobiography. He went public with his Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2008. Among his many accolades were six Gemini Awards. In 1992, he was knighted by the National Order of Quebec and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2009.

Rod Coneybeare, 89, on Sept. 5, Coneybeare, who was born in Belleville, ON, got his start as a teen appearing on CBC Radio. He went on to work at stations around Ontario in Orillia, Chatham, Guelph and Ottawa. Eventually, Coneybeare landed at the CBC, selected to voice several characters on children’s show The Friendly Giant. He was the voice of both Jerome the Giraffe and Rusty the Rooster during the show’s run from 1958-85, in addition to working on other shows for the public broadcaster. In 1959, Coneybeare was named editor-in-chief and host of Man to Man, one of the first CBC Radio shows produced for a male audience. He also worked with Charles Winter on The Rod and Charles Show and with Mr. Dressup producer Robert Gibbons to create CBC TV series The Bananas. In addition to his three decades with CBC, Coneybeare lent his voice to animated series, including The Adventures of Tintin, Babar, The Busy World of Richard Scarry, The Magic School Bus, The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, and the X-Men animated TV series. In 1993, he penned fictional novel The Last Happy Year, set in 1949, which was inspired by his early days in radio.

Pierre Martineau, 67, on Sept. 13. Martineau arrived at Radio-Canada Colombie-Britannique in 1971, spending 30 years as a reporter, anchor and host in Vancouver. Well-known in the press pool for his distinctive hat, cigarette, and fearless questions, Martineau retired from the CBC in Aug. 2018. Watch CBC Vancouver’s tribute to Martineau here.

Sharryn Graham, 69, of cancer. Graham’s radio career included stops at LG73 (CKLG-AM), KISS FM (CKKS-FM), Mountain FM (CISQ-FM) Squamish. In 1986, she was chosen as the morning co-host as part of the on-air team that launched JR Country (CJJR-FM), alongside Frank Callaghan. She was awarded On-Air Personality of the Year by the BC Country Music Association in 1995. Post-radio, Graham became a corporate trainer and career counsellor and founded a charity to assist Ugandan refugees settling in Metro Vancouver. 

Dave Guy, 68, on Sept. 18. Guy started his radio career in 1966, at the age of 15, after begging CKCL-AM Truro, NS program director Frank Harvey, for a shot at announcing. Guy began hosting a weekly, high school program on the station going on to hold roles from morning show host to news director. In more recent years, Guy’s Saturday morning Classic Country program on Cat Country 99.5 (CKTY-FM) gained a following. He also delivered news on both CKTY-FM and its sister station Big Dog 100.9 (CKTO-FM). He retired in Dec. 2013. Beyond radio, Guy sat on the board of directors of both the Children’s Aid Society and Big Brothers Big Sisters. He also served as the master of ceremonies for numerous fundraisers and events over the years, including the Miss Nova Scotia Pageant.

William ‘Wild Bill’ Flamond, 74, on Sept. 24. Best known as the longtime voice of afternoons on NCI-FM Winnipeg, where he also served as the station’s news director, Flamond was also an actor, singer and community advocate for Métis rights. Born in The Pas, MB, Flamond started his radio career in the early 1960s in Dauphin, MB. He went on to work at stations in Saskatchewan and Alberta, before heading south to work as a news director, sports director, music director, and in public relations in Arizona and Texas. In addition to radio, Flamond performed in and staged productions as a singer and emcee, sharing the stage with country legends like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Mel Tillis, Buck Owens, Hank Snow, Kitty Wells, Charlie Pride, Sawyer Brown, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Tommy Hunter, and Al Cherny. In 2003, he was nominated for a Nashville Golden Voice Award in the Radio Personality of the Year category. Flamond also took a turn at acting, appearing in the National Film Board production of “Guns For Life” starring Chief Dan George, and had a starring role alongside Tantoo Cardinal in “New Days, New Horizons.” Among his elected positions over the years, Flamond served as President of the Indian and Metis Friendship Center in Winnipeg; president of the Indian and Metis Tenants Association; regional Vice-President of the Manitoba Metis Federation (Thompson); and was Director, Federal/Provincial Relations of the Manitoba Metis Senate. He sat on numerous other community advisory committees and boards, including chairing the Manitoba Metis Federation Constitution Committee and the Aboriginal Peoples Summit on Constitutional Matters. Flamond stepped away from radio in 2008 after suffering a heart attack.

Sid Tomkins, 81, on Sept. 28. Tomkins began his career as a technician at CKGN-TV, moving into announcing and eventually management. He later joined CKNY-TV North Bay. He went on to become the founding president of Gateway City Broadcasters Ltd. which launched CHUR-AM North Bay in 1985. Tomkins also pursued teaching, joining Canadore College as a professor in the broadcasting program. He retired in 1994 as Dean of Applied Arts. Tomkins sat on the Board of Governors of TV Ontario (TVO) and was also involved in the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), among other professional organizations.

Ted Townsend, 70, on Aug. 31. Townsend, the former Chief Engineer of CHML Hamilton, joined the station in 1969, working under the late Chief Engineer Ed Victor and later Chief Engineer Bob Burger. Townsend took up the role in the late 1980s. He played a major role in the station’s move to its new and current facility in 1986. He also lent his technical expertise to construction of the technical facilities for CKRZ-FM Ohsweken, ON serving the Six Nations.

Doug Garraway, 77, on Oct. 4. Garraway spent the majority of his career managing Barrie’s local television station CKVR-TV. Originally a CBC affiliate, Garraway successfully guided the station through its rebrand as The New VR, which like its sister station CityTV, carried programming targeted at younger viewers. It became the template for some of the other stations in the CHUM family, known as the NewNet network. Garraway retired in 2006 as vice-president and general manager after 40 years with the station, the same year it was acquired by CTVglobemedia.

Margaret Lyons, 95, on Oct. 5. Born Keiko Margaret Inouye to Japanese immigrants in Vancouver, Lyons worked as a chambermaid while finishing her high school diploma before starting as a full-time student at McMaster University in 1945. With her sights set on journalism, she studied economics, going on to marry fellow student Edward Lyons. After graduation, they moved to London, England where Lyons took a job as a dictation typist in the BBC newsroom. Accepted into the BBC producer training program, she went on to serve as the current affairs producer for Asia. Lyons and her family eventually returned to Canada and she took a job producing radio documentaries for CBC and was promoted to supervisor within a number of years. Among the talent she’s credited with recruiting to radio are Stuart McLean, Peter Gzowski, Michael Enright, and Ivan Fecan, who created Quirks and Quarks. Lyons became vice-president of English CBC Radio in 1981. In 1982, she was inducted into the McMaster Alumni Gallery, and awarded an honorary doctorate in 1986. She was inducted into the Order of Canada in 2009. In 2014, the McMaster Alumni Association presented her with its highest honour, the Distinguished Service Award. She was recognized with an Ontario Volunteer Service Award in 2016.

Stephen Halinda, 84, on Oct. 19. Halinda started his four decade broadcasting career as a news anchor at CHOW-AM Welland, ON in the early 1960s. He went on to marry colleague Connie Chicorli. From CHOW, Halinda moved on to CKPR Radio and TV in Thunder Bay; then CJOB Winnipeg; and later CBWT-TV  Winnipeg, where he served as both an anchor and news director. During his time in Winnipeg, he played a large part in getting cameras and mics into the Manitoba Legislature and served as president of the Winnipeg Press Club. From 1985 and through 2000, Halinda was news director at CFRN-TV Edmonton. He retired to Langley, BC 2001.

Bob Kingsley, 80, on Oct. 17. Kingsley had a national radio syndication presence for more than four decades as host of American Country Countdown (1978-2006) and Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40 (2006-19). At its peak, Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40 was syndicated to nearly 50 Canadian radio stations and about 320 across North America. A 2016 National Radio Hall of Fame inductee and 1998 inductee of the Country Radio Broadcasters Hall of Fame, Kingsley got his start in broadcasting in the late 1950s as a member of the U.S. Air Force. He was named the Country Music Association (CMA) National Broadcast Personality of the Year in 2001 and 2003, and won the 2006 Academy of Country Music Award for On-Air Personality-National. Those awards book-ended his inaugural wins in 1966 and ‘67 trophies for ACM Radio Personality of the Year, during his time on-air at KGBS Los Angeles. Kingsley was also the first recipient of the Grand Ole Opry’s Bob Kingsley Living Legend Award, which has been presented every year since 2014 and benefits the Opry Trust Fund.

Mary Wong, 60, On Oct. 10, following a battle with cancer. Wong was an accomplished editor and sound recordist. She initially joined CBC Vancouver as a film editor in 1978, and went on to work with CBC Toronto, covering world events like the Tiananmen Square Massacre, Noriega Invasion, and First Gulf War. Among the long list of programs Wong worked on were The Fifth Estate, The Nature of Things and Marketplace, in addition to 2015 docuseries Keeping Canada Alive and China Rises (2006). 

Ken Lundgren, 78, on Oct. 9. Lundgren’s broadcast career started at CKWX-AM Vancouver where he served as copy chief in the late 1970s. He went on to become the Director of Spoken Word Content at CJAZ-FM Vancouver. Over the years he also worked overseas, as a commercial producer at London, England news/talk station LBC, and as a morning show host at Commercial Radio Hong Kong and voiceover artist at TVB (Television Broadcasts Limited) in Hong Kong. From 1999 – 2010, Lundgren taught writing, advertising, and marketing at Langara College in Vancouver.

Carol Burgoyne, 76, on Oct. 3. Based in BC’s Lower Mainland, Burgoyne had a long career in film distribution that started in the late 1960s, up until her retirement in 2003. Over the years, Burgoyne worked for Paramount Pictures, Astral/Bellevue, and Criterion. She was a member of the Canadian Picture Pioneers and was recognized with their Silver Spotlight Award for both her industry and charitable contributions in 2014.

Scott Hurley, 65, on Oct. 23. Hurley began his radio career as a news reporter at CFSX-AM Stephenville, NL in 1973 and was appointed news director in 1987. He also supplied colour commentary at local hockey games, alongside CFSX colleague Don Gibbon. Gibbon and Hurley’s alter ego “Ned the Newf” were popular characters at community events where unsuspecting tourists found themselves getting “Screech-ed in.” Hurley worked with Humber Valley Broadcasting, which was acquired by Newcap in 2001, for a total of 31 years. He also served as a Stephenville Town Councillor for 16 years from 1993 until 2009.

Jean Bruce (Smith), 83, on Oct. 7. Bruce came to Canada from England to pursue graduate studies at Queen’s University. She started her career as a radio producer for CBC in Ottawa, going on to work as a researcher, historian, curator and author in the cultural arts sector. Over the years she held positions with National Museums of Canada, National Gallery and Museum of Civilization. Bruce also authored three books on Canadian history, The Last Best West, After the War and Back the Attack!

Alain Clermont, 69, on Oct. 3. Clermont started his career as a producer and anchor with CBC Regina. He was with the public broadcaster from 1974 to 1985 before moving into public sector consulting with the provincial government. He went on to work as an aboriginal affairs and diversity consultant for SaskPower, and helped develop the Saskatchewan WCB employment equity program. For over three decades, Clermont also served as a bilingual announcer for Skate Canada events, including three world championships and the Calgary Winter Olympics.

Joseph Dean “Joe” Smith, 85, on Aug. 21.  Born in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley, Smith was introduced to radio during his time with the Royal Canadian Air Force building communications towers in France, Belgium and Germany. After the war, Smith settled in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador where he headed up technical services for the CBC. Smith installed CBC radio and TV towers and transmitters all over Labrador and Nunavut. He was recognized by former CBC President Pierre Juneau with the CBC President’s Award of Recognition of Service.

Bernard Slade, 89, on Oct. 30. Born in St. Catharines, ON, Slade moved to England with his family as a child. Upon his return to Canada, he worked as an Air Canada as a steward before pursuing acting. Slade started his career as an actor in repertory theatre in England and at the Garden Center Theatre in Vineland, ON. He headed to Hollywood In the mid-1960s, where he found success writing TV sitcoms at Screen Gems, including Bewitched. That led to ABC series Love on a Rooftop and The Flying Nun. Slade would go on to create The Partridge Family and Bridget Loves Bernie. He was also behind the script for 1972 film Stand Up and Be Counted, starring Jacqueline Bisset. In 1975, Slade returned to the theatre with his hit play Same Time, Next Year, with Charles Grodin and Ellen Burstyn in the leads. The play earned Slade a Tony Award nomination. That was followed by the less successful Tribute, with Jack Lemmon in the lead, and then Romantic Comedy, starring Anthony Perkins and Mia Farrow. Slade went on to write the screenplays for the film versions of all three plays, and was nominated for an Oscar for his screen adaptation of Same Time, Next Year.

Rick Staehling, 73, on Oct. 25. Staehling was a film critic on CBC Radio One in Vancouver for more than three decades. He started at the public broadcaster in 1971 as a graphic designer. Having studied at the Art Center College of Design in L.A,, Staehling had developed a love of film and started contributing reviews to the local afternoon show. His last review for On The Coast was in 2010. In addition to CBC, Staehling worked as art director for Vancouver magazine and Western Living, and served as an editor at Travel, etc. He also lectured at Capilano University, the University of British Columbia and Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Among the awards Staehling received were a Lowell Thomas Travel Writing Award, the Western Magazine Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Vancouver Film Critic’s Circle Ian Caddell Achievement Award.

Peter Novak, 62, on Nov. 3. Novak had a passion for radio from a young age, starting his radio career working part-time at a Montreal radio station while going to college. He started as a regular host on CBC Yukon in the 1980s and made the north his home, remaining on-air at the public broadcaster until his retirement in 2005. He then went to work as a host at Northern Native Broadcasting’s CHON-FM Whitehorse, hosting a variety of shows including Cool Country Morning and Cabin Radio.

Dan Kauffman on Oct. 25. After finishing high school in Toronto, Kauffman took broadcasting courses at Los Angeles’ City College. He went on to work as a film editor for CBC Toronto in 1955, in addition to partnering in a film production firm. In 1960, he joined Edmonton CTV affiliate CFRN-TV. Kauffman worked for CFRN for 35 years, predominantly producing documentaries and features. He was very active in the Edmonton Jewish Community, including serving as President of the Jewish Archives and Historical Society of Edmonton and Northern Alberta for eight years, starting in 2001. During that time he produced two documentary films for the organization, “Frome Pedlars to Patriarchs: A Legacy Remembered,” and “Bittersweet Memories: The War Years.”

Doug Alexander, 83, on Nov. 10. Born in Nipawin, SK, Alexander started his radio career after moving with his parents to Saskatoon. While still in highschool, he started at CKOM in 1957. He moved on to Regina in 1959 and 620 CKCK where he would remain an on-air mainstay for 38 years. During his time at CKCK, Alexander is credited with creating the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ original game mascot “Gainer” the gopher. He retired from CKCK in 1997 and joined Cable Regina, later renamed Access Communications, as community relations manager – a position he still held at the time of his death. Involved with the Regina Rotary Club, Regina Exhibition, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Saskatchewan, and Chairman of the Board of the Access Communications Children’s Fund, among other community organizations, Alexander was recognized for his volunteer efforts with the Government of Canada Volunteer medal and the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal.

Paul Dalby, 73, on Nov. 15. Best known for his time reporting for Global Toronto in the 1980s and early 90s, Dalby got his start in journalism at age 17 working for British magazines Nottingham Observer, Tailor and Cutter, and Men’s Wear Magazine. He went on to write for several newspapers before emigrating to Canada in 1973. He joined the Calgary Herald as a desk editor and reporter before moving on to the Toronto Star, which he joined as a staff writer, in 1975. He moved into television in 1983 and worked with Global Toronto for 13 years. Dalby returned to the UK in 1996 to freelance and work with the Anglia TV network, but returned to Canada two years later where he continued to freelance. In semi-retirement, Dalby contributed to publications including the Toronto Star and Newsweek, and also dabbled in documentary production.

David White, 81, on Nov. 9. White spent 25 years in broadcasting, most of that time as news director at CHSJ and MITV in Saint John, NB. White anchored daily TV newscasts, in addition to hosting weekly news program “Newscope.” He’s also remembered, alongside colleague Gary Murphy, for hosting the annual Empty Stocky Fund and IWK fundraising broadcasts.

Bill Kyashko, 87, on Nov. 4. Kyashko joined the CBC Vancouver technical department in 1954. Kyashko was eventually named to the position of Assistant Manager, TV Technical Services. He retired from the public broadcaster in 1992. 

John Mather, 80, on Nov. 23. Mather started his radio career in 1957 at CFCO Chatham, ON, moving on to CHLO St. Thomas-London and then CKNX-TV Wingham where he took on the role of nighttime news anchor. Mather lasted in television a year before heading stateside to take on the morning man role at WVFM in Lakeland, Florida and act as the Central Florida correspondent for the American FM Radio Network. Mather eventually returned to Ontario and CKOT-FM Tillsonburg where he served as program director. The last 10 years of his career were spent at CKPC Brantford as the station’s Farm and Agricultural Director. In retirement, Mather helped found community station 99.3 County FM (CJPE-FM) in Prince Edward County, acted as its first news director, and up until Oct. 2018 was the host of Sunday morning program “Music and Miscellany.”

Joyce Pears, 85, on Nov. 3. Pears worked with both British Airways and Air Canada before joining CBC as a production assistant. She worked at both the Toronto and Vancouver bureaus on programs, including afternoon news magazine show Take 30, which aired from 1962-84, and The National. It was also at the public broadcaster that she was introduced to future husband and production executive David Pears.

Greg Schmaltz, 85, on Nov. 28. Schmaltz’s broadcast engineering career started at CFCN Radio Calgary, following his graduation from the SAIT Radio & Electronics program in 1956. From 1957-60, he was one of four technicians who built CHCA-TV (later CKRD-TV) Red Deer from the ground up.  Schmaltz moved to Winnipeg in 1960 as a studio transmitter technician to help launch CJAY-TV. In the mid-1970s, he returned to Alberta to work with the CITV-TV engineering department for its sign-on. Schmaltz retired from broadcasting in 1997 and was inducted into the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Half Century Club in 2007. He was also one of the founding members of the Edmonton Broadcasters Club. 

Jean Pagé, 73, on Dec. 9, of prostate cancer. Pagé, who grew up Chicoutimi, got his start in broadcasting at the age of 18 when local radio station CJMT gave him a shot at hosting shows on weekends and during summer holidays, while he was going to university. In 1976, he joined La Soirée du Hockey, which he hosted for 17 years, going on to serve with Radio-Canada as a sports announcer and commentator for three decades. From 1996 to 2002, he hosted radio show C’est bien meilleur le matin, and later TQS flagship show 110% and L’Attaque 5. He also served as lead anchor or host during 11 different Olympic Games, including Sarajevo (1984), Los Angeles (1986), Seoul (1988), Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000), London (2012), Albertville (1992), Nagano (1998), Salt Lake City (2002) and Vancouver (2010). Over his career, Pagé won eight Métrostar trophies, in addition to two Gemini awards.

Jessie McLean (née Geldart), 78, on Dec. 1, after a short battle with cancer. McLean’s four decades in broadcasting started in 1960 when she was hired by New Brunswick Broadcasting to handle Accounts Receivable at CHSJ Radio and TV in Saint John, NB. She left the station group in 1972 as Accounting Department Supervisor. McLean then joined the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) as an accountant in Ottawa, also taking on duties related to staging the CAB’s annual conventions. In 1978, she was named Director, Administrative Services, managing the office staff, and membership mailouts, among other duties, and in 1982 was promoted to Director of Finance and Administration. McLean was inducted into the CAB Hall of Fame in 1996 and retired in 1997.  From 1980 to 1995, she also served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Canadian Communications Foundation. 

Joan Farquhar, 74, on Nov. 28, of Parkinson’s. Farquhar started her broadcast career at The Big R (CKXR-FM) Salmon Arm and went on to spend 13 years at Kelowna’s CKIQ, now AM 1150 (CKFR). She moved to Calgary in the early 1980s to work at CBC in the sales department where she remained for over 20 years. A Celebration of Life is planned for Feb. 2020 in Salmon Arm.

Robert “Bob” Lowe, 92, on Dec. 15. Lowe, who spent much of his working life as a sales manager with CKBW Bridgewater, NS, became one of the station’s owners in 1974 when Lester Rogers and John Hirtle sold their interest to four longtime employees, including Lowe, Jamie MacLeod (Station Manager), Bob MacLaren (Program Director), and Doug Hirtle (Chief Engineer). Lowe retired in 1989, owning 23% of the station, when it was sold to Acadia Broadcasting. In addition to his work with CKBW, Lowe and his wife Greta were behind the Victoria Acres housing development in Lunenburg County. He was also involved in the Bridgewater Board of Trade and Chamber of Commerce, serving as its president for five years, and was appointed to the Bridgewater Development Commission, where he helped establish a relationship with major community employer Michelin Tires.

Monique Leyrac, 91, on Dec. 15. Born in Montreal, Leyrac trained in the dramatic arts which led to a job at CKAC Montreal in 1943. After a few years at the station, she began singing at the Au Faisan doré cabaret, performing songs by Edith Piaf, among others. She went on to record an album and star in Quebec film “The Lights Of My City” in 1950. After touring Europe and Lebanon, she did a stint in the Parisien theatre before returning to Quebec. She went on to a successful recording, television, and touring career, including a series of shows at Expo ‘67. Among the accolades she’s received are induction into the Order of Canada and National Order of Quebec, the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and Quebecor’s Prix Hommage.

Don Tremaine, 91, on Dec. 15. Tremaine’s first exposure to radio was in high school where he gained experience as an announcer while attending Halifax’s Queen Elizabeth High School. After dropping out in Grade 11, he joined the RCMP Marine Division, before returning to broadcasting and CHNS Halifax as an announcer. He joined CBC Sydney in Cape Breton in 1951, transferring to Halifax a few years later where he would establish himself as CBC Nova Scotia’s first television newsreader at station launch in 1954. Tremaine is best known as the host of variety show Don Messer’s Jubilee, which aired across the network from 1959-69. He moved over to CBC Radio in 1971 where he hosted the local edition of Information Morning, up until 1987 when he retired from the public broadcaster. Tremaine was awarded the Order of Canada in 1996.

Wayne Stafford, 76, on Dec. 14. Stafford’s radio career started at CJGX in Yorkton, followed by CKRM Regina. By the mid- 1970s, he had moved to the West Coast and become General Sales Manager at CFUN Vancouver where he and retail sales manager Barry O’Donnell are remembered for setting the bar with year-after-year sales records. He went on to join CFMS/CKDA Victoria, where following the death of Capital Broadcasting President David Armstrong in 1985, he launched a failed bid to take control of the stations. Stafford closed out his broadcasting career as General Manager of the CHUM stations in Windsor, which he stepped away from in 1997. 

Ann Elvidge, 68, on Dec. 8. Elvidge worked with CBC Radio Vancouver, starting in the mid-1970s as a production and programming assistant, working behind-the-scenes on shows like early 1980s supernatural/horror series Nightfall. Elvidge also lent her talents to the Radio Drama department, in addition to working in television.

Bill Terry, 84, on Dec. 3. Terry had a 35-year career with the CBC that included many years as a current affairs producer for radio in Vancouver, Ottawa and Winnipeg. He went on to become head of CBC Television in Manitoba, and then Radio Drama and Features in Toronto, before being appointed Deputy Head of English Radio Networks. In addition to his work with CBC, Terry was an avid author, gardner, community volunteer, and lecturer at Capilano University in their Continuing Education program. He authored four books including “Blue Heaven: Encounters with the Blue Poppy” (2009), “Beyond Beauty: Hunting the Wild Blue Poppy” (2012), “Beauty by Design: Inspired Gardening in the Pacific Northwest” (2013, written with his wife, Rosemary Bates), and “The Carefree Garden: Letting Nature Play her Part” (2015). In retirement, he supported a number of local organizations near his home of Sechelt, BC, including the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden Society, Sunshine Coast ElderCollege and the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts.

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