Longtime The Zone @ 91-3 (CJZN-FM) Victoria morning show co-host Dylan Willows has passed away after a reoccurrence of a rare ocular cancer late last year. He was 45.
“It is with the biggest broken heart that we tell you we’ve lost our brother, Dylan Willows,” the station wrote in a post to social media Thursday morning. “He put up a hell of a fight against the cancer, after a lifetime of being an amazing radio host, local music crusader, and all around great human being. We miss him indescribably, and we know you do, too. The Zone, and this city, will never be the same.”
Paired with co-host Jason Lamb on the Pattison Media station for almost two decades, Lamb accepted the BC Association of Broadcasters’ Broadcast Performer of the Year award last month on behalf of the duo. Vancouver Island General Manager Rob Bye told the BCAB gathering that the morning show was a ratings leader, ranking #1 at least 10 books in a row with adults 18-44. Bye said he also promoted countless Victoria artists during his decade as the director of The Zone’s Band of the Month program.
“Dylan was a champion of the local music and arts community,” Bye told Broadcast Dialogue. “He loved Victoria, he loved being on the radio and generously sharing his life with our listeners, the Zoners. He enriched our lives, he made us better, he was a giant talent, an amazing person, and he will be missed.”
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Willows stepped away from the station in March following a stage 4 uveal melanoma diagnosis he revealed in December, which he had previously battled 20 years ago. The Zone hosted a sold out benefit concert, in honour of the veteran announcer, at the Royal Theatre on March 19.
Willows was born in Yellowknife and worked in Vancouver at The Beat 94.5 (CFBT-FM) during the early part of his broadcast career. He returned to his hometown of Victoria in 2005 to take a position with 100.3 The Q (CKKQ-FM), before moving over to The Zone a year later.
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