I'll Miss Pete Wilson

San Franciso Bay Area broadcaster Pete Wilson died on July 20, 2007, of a heart attack during hip replacement surgery at Stanford University Hospital. He was 62 years old.

A nightly television news anchor for ABC, Wilson was also a regular radio talk show host at KGO-AM (810). He had won five Emmy Awards, a Peabody award, and various other national and local awards. Politically, he was a self-proclaimed independent.



I will miss Pete Wilson and his smooth and pleasing voice. His presence modestly commanded a combination of comfort and respect, not unlike that of Peter Jennings. We rarely realize that a media person who disseminates information can become a big part of our routine and our lives.

I personally wonder what might have gone wrong during Pete Wilson’s surgery. Besides needing a new hip, he had seemed otherwise healthy. According to Chapin Day, a spokesperson for the Wilson family, Wilson's heart attack was caused by an unknownn coronary blockage. No one seems to know what triggered the heart attack so soon after surgery began. I will update this blog, should additional information be released.

Wilson lived with his family in Mill Valley. He has one college-age son. According to Wikepedia, he was a voracious reader and oil painter who loved golf. His career on the air spanned three decades. The Bay Area does not feel or seem the same without Pete Wilson.

Rest in Peace, Tammy Faye

Tammy Faye Messner died Friday morning. I did not see her last appearance on Larry King Live, but I read summaries of her interview, and I read her last post of a couple days ago on her page TammyFaye.com.

I normally think it's in bad taste to pronounce someone's impending death, as I did in my last blog. I thought more than twice before saying what I said. After reading her last letter to her supporters and fans, I thought, If anyone can come back from near death, it would be Tammy Faye.

She kept her sense of humor until the end. She also knew that she was headed toward the arms of God. I commend Tammy for her strength and guts and faith. My good friend Janice died in 1986. Memory of her courage and faith has stayed with me all these years. And I think of her whenever I find myself hospitalized.

People die as they live, and those who go with courage, set examples for those of us they leave behind. My father also had unwavering faith, and he died how he lived, on his own terms. People who leave us on their own terms give us a gift. They somehow comfort us, instead of the other way around. And they give us an idea how we might go forward when it's our turn.

This is really about Tammy Faye, an imperfect person who got the most important things right. She didn't give up. She fought. She laughed. She believed. She did things her way (and her interpretation of God's way). She pulled herself up after several "failures."

Many people loved her. You can't do better. I will remember Tammy's courage always. She has joined that rare club with my father and my friend Janice, those who have shown me how to navigate illness and death.

Thank you, Tammy Faye. I know you're with Jesus, and I know you're at peace.