Stand by for news!

I cannot let the passing earlier this week of lengendary broadcaster Paul Harvey go unnoticed. I listened to him as a kid. For a time I remember his daily television segements too. His staccato style made him one of the nation's most familiar voices and when he died a week ago in Arizona (where my mom now lives) I paused and thought about his life.

Harvey worked for more than fifty years for abc Radio. Long time huh? He had been forced off the air for several months in 2001 because of a virus that weakened a vocal cord. But he returned to work in Chicago and was still active as he passed his 90th birthday.

He was known not only for his resonant voice, but also for his trademark delivery of "The Rest of the Story," and for "Good day" close and his "Stand by for news!" He was credited with inventing or popularizing terms such as "skyjacker," "Reaganomics" and "guesstimate."

His death came less than a year after that of his wife and longtime producer, Lynne Cooper whom he always called Angel.

I can tell you how much I always enjoyed hearing him on the radio. In recent years I have listened less and less, as I spend more time getting news from other sources, but I will always remember him.

Today at a Presbyterian church in Chicago, his body will lie in state and then at a public funeral service, family and friends will offer prayers and memories of this great man. May he rest in peace