Bill McVean, 94, on March 21, following complications from multiple strokes. Born in Windsor, McVean served with the RCAF spitfire squadron in France, Belgium and Holland, ending the war editing an armed forces newspaper and managing a radio station. He returned to Canada and studied journalism, starting his broadcast career in news with CKNX Wingham. McVean moved on to CKOC Hamilton in 1949 where he became the first aerial traffic reporter to broadcast from a plane he also piloted. He moved over to CHML in 1955 and then CFRB Toronto in the early 1960s where he would remain a staple on the airwaves through to the mid-1980s. McVean’s last weekday show aired in 1985 and he retired from the station in 1996. Alongside his work with CFRB, McVean narrated and hosted for CBC Television, among other commercial television work. For more than two decades, McVean was also the emcee and later director of the Canadian International Air Show. In retirement, he and wife Catherine produced syndicated travel segment ‘Trips n’ Tips’ which aired on 23 stations across the country. They were also founding members of the Travel Media Association of Canada.
Linda Dawe, 72, on March 20. Originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Dawe left her journalism studies at Lake Superior State University and headed for Toronto where she got her start in the music business with Beetle Magazine in 1971. Rising to the position of assistant editor, then-president of RCA Records Ed Preston went on to recruit her as the first female promotions manager in Canada. After spending nearly 10 years with major labels like RCA/BMG, MCA/Universal and CBS/Sony, Dawe went out on her own in 1980, launching Music Solutions, a marketing and consulting firm for artists that also handled radio promotion and publicity activity. Among the artists the company worked with were Blue Rodeo and Roch Voisine. Dawe was also an advocate for the under-represented in the music industry, founding advocacy organization Women In the Music Business (WIMB) in the 1980s.
Chris Straw, 62, following a construction accident at his home on Gabriola Island, BC. Straw worked coast-to-coast with CBC from Yellowknife to PEI and Vancouver, eventually becoming a CBC Radio executive and holding roles as Director of Network Program Development and Senior Director of Network Talk. He semi-retired in 2014 to pursue his passion for photography and art.
