John Babcock

Farewell John Babcock - January 6, 2005

On January 5th WERU Volunteer Programmer John Babcock passed away in Bangor after a brief illness. John was a warm and wonderful person, and was for the past seven years the host of On the Wing, a lively and eclectic music program heard every Tuesday from 11 a.m. — 2 p.m. on WERU. He was forty-four years old at the time of his death. John is survived by his parents, his five siblings and their families.

Though diagnosed with muscular dystrophy as a child and forced to live much of his life in a wheelchair, John could truly dance and soar every Tuesday when he hosted On the Wing . His extensive love and knowledge of music, combined with his engaging personality, provided listeners with the gift of great community radio programming.

Many inspiring people are and have been involved with Community Radio, and none more worthy of our admiration than John Babcock. He will be missed indeed.

WERU would like to thank John's family and friends, as well his loyal listeners, who recently made contributions to the John Babcock Memorial Fund. It was John’s wish that such a fund be created after his passing, but being so humble he likely had no idea of how generous everyone would be with regards to the fund. As of February 1 the fund is $2000 in donations (and climbing).

We want to remember John in a special and public way, and therefore WERU has decided to dedicate the fund bearing his name to the improvement and expansion of our music library. All contributions to the John Babcock Memorial Fund will be used to realize a plan to renovate our library facility, which in recent years has become increasingly cramped for space and lacking in technology. Upon completion of the main thrust of the project, the music library will be dedicated to John and reopened with a memorial plaque recognizing his wonderful spirit and presence at WERU.

If you would like to honor John’s memory with a tax-deductible donation to the John Babcock Memorial Fund, you can send a check to WERU-FM attn: John Babcock Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 170, East Orland, ME 04431.