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R.I.P. George Pass 1938-2008

D

dpass

I'm not much for writing obituaries, but I wanted to let the Atlanta broadcasting community know that my dad George Pass passed away on Sunday November 2nd at approximately 11:45 AM . My dad started in radio at WDOD in Chatanooga. He came to Atlanta to work for Plough Broadcasting in approximately 1962. He was chief engineer of WPLO/WVEE until the late 80's I believe. From there he resigned and ran his own engineering service under the name Pass Enterprises. His hand has touched many radio stations in Atlanta. It would be impossible for me to name them all. My dad had been fighting diabetes for about 20 years, but ultimately it was an MRSA (antibiotic resistant) staph infection that took his life. It entered his bloodstream and we discovered it too late.

David Pass
 
David,

Sorry to hear of your Dad's passing. I knew him from working at Ack back in the 70s and working in radio in the 80s.

Bill Durham
 
Your name looks familiar. I think I saw it in his address book. He knows a lot of people so I stopped at just calling the people he dealt with the most. I know there is a lot of news spread by word of mouth in the industry so I was hoping that would get the news out.
 
David,
I am truly sorry to hear of your loss, and you and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers. May god give you comfort during this tough time. I hope you know that all of us here on Radio Info will be thinking of you.
 
George Pass was one of the finest people I have had the privilege to know! I hope his family knows how much he is loved by his fellow radio engineers and how much he will be missed.
Sidney Daniel, another long time WVEE/WPLO engineer, left the station just last week(after 48 years!!)
It's the end of an era.........
 
Yes, please keep Sidney Daniel in your prayers also. He and my dad came to Atlanta around the same time and worked side by side for many years. His employment ended with WVEE recently and I'm sure his skills would be quite useful elsewhere.

dpass
 
I found out yesterday from my engineer friend Bob Lipscomb about George and it certainly was a blow to hear. I knew George for many years working with him on many radio outlets and remember all the fun I had being around him. I'm sure glad I made some dvd movies of George and some of the AM sites we worked on together around Atlanta, they will be cherished memories. George was a wonderful man and I will miss him.
 
David, please accept my sincere condolences on your father's passing. I had the opportunity of meeting George about 10 years ago when he gave this high school kid his first shot at radio engineering. He was an outstanding mentor who was never hesitant to share his immense knowledge. George, Sidney, Jack, Wayne, and the whole crew were all top-notch, and I learned more in those few years than I could've ever dreamed of.

Each day our family grows a little bit smaller, and the void that the elite leave behind, such as George, can never be replaced.
 
Hi David, sorry to hear the news about George. He was the nicest most pleasant person I have ever met in broadcasting. I worked for Plough at their FM station in Tampa in the '70's and George and I got to be good friends. George came to Tampa one year to help me install a new run of transmission line on our tower. Although extremely professional, his wit and laugh made the job easy and fun. He would look at any hurdle we came across during that project and somehow made it funny. I always respected George and I know he will be missed by many. Bill Elliott, Gainesville, Florida.
 
Hi David,

I worked with George for many years and like others, always appreciated his knowledge, skills and wit. We always said that there are three ways to accomplish each job; the right way, the wrong way and George's way. Of course, George's way would also be the right way in most cases.

He was a pleasure to work with and you wouldn't find many like him who would be so quick to pay anything due you even when he might be having difficulties in collecting from some of his clients.

So to David, Ann and the rest of George's family, I would like to say we're hurting with you over your loss and are praying that the Lord will give you His comfort in the coming days.

Bob Lipscomb, K4RKP
 
Hi Bob. My dad had a methodical way of doing things and sometimes he needed a translator to explain every "why." I played that role many times.
There is supposed to be an expanded obituary in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on 11/5/08. My sister was involved with the content, so I don't know what it will include. I was more aware of the projects he had been involved with, so I'm not really expecting anything too deep.

David Pass
 
David,
I met your dad for the first time shortly after he arrived in Atlanta to join WPLO. We remained professional competitors and friends until I retired from broadcasting in 2006. He was one of the best!
He was particularly pleased with his design and construction of WVEE's LaFrance tower site, one of the nicer transmission facilities of that time. I enjoyed working with him and Ron Wilson from Cox as he put this project together.
He was a true professional and you have every right to be proud of him.
He'll be missed.
Tom Giglio
JPC (retired)
 
T.G. said:
David,
I met your dad for the first time shortly after he arrived in Atlanta to join WPLO. We remained professional competitors and friends until I retired from broadcasting in 2006. He was one of the best!
He was particularly pleased with his design and construction of WVEE's LaFrance tower site, one of the nicer transmission facilities of that time. I enjoyed working with him and Ron Wilson from Cox as he put this project together.
He was a true professional and you have every right to be proud of him.
He'll be missed.
Tom Giglio
JPC (retired)
Click to expand...

I did know Ron. I believe there were significant engineering hurdles to overcome with LaFrance so I've heard quite a few stories. I know he was proud when that was completed.

David Pass
 
I would like to make note that there is a serious error in the AJC story about my dad. My sister was misquoted. The article says my dad was not a religious man. This is untrue. My father did not attend church, but he was a religious man and he had a circle of Christian friends and connections. He grew up memorizing Bible passages. He credited God with helping him through many of the toughest times both financially and with his health.

David Pass
 
Hello, David:

You can tell by the reminiscences among these postings that your dad touched many of us through his career. In 1968 through 1971 I was a first-time program director at WPLO-FM and George was a tremendous help in getting our "progressive rock" station off the ground, all the while wondering why we couldn't play good ole country music like WPLO-AM did.

BTW, don't worry about the AJC misquote. "Religious" or not, George was a man of faith and his faith no church's mediation. You and your sister can take comfort in the AJC's next sentence about George's calling to keep Christian stations on the air. "A calling" indicates "a Caller," and we know who that is.

Several of us ex-patriate Atlantans would like to send a note to Anne. Would you mind sharing an address?

God bless.

Ed Shane, Houston
 
My memories of George are like those of others. I was VP Operations of Plough Broadcasting during the 70's and visited our Atlanta stations at least once a month for a decade. Our stations there were growing at an unprecedented pace, not just ratings and revenue but internally with the expanding, changing infrastructure. George was under a lot of pressure but he always delivered on time and with a high level of quality and service. He always had a smile and pleasant attitude even when things were crazy inside. And George was the Atlanta point person responsible for constructing studios and installing a new automation system for the soon to be launched WVEE in October 1976. Under deadline pressure but always a willing and pleasant temperament, George approached this project the way he did all others. He was thorough, professional and calm in the face of the storm of change. He was easy to like and even easier to respect.

Craig Scott
VP Market Manager
Clear Channel Radio
Savannah/Hilton Head
 
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