RIP Cary Simpson

[khoculock]

I saw no one has posted anything of late regarding the passing of Mr. Cary Simpson. So here goes.

I was terribly saddened to learn of the passing of my friend, mentor, and colleague, Mr. Cary Simpson, on December 27th, 2016. He was truly an asset to small market radio, and to radio in northern and central Pennsylvania. At the height of his power, he owned the maximum amount of stations (prior to the 1992 ownership changes) then allowed by the FCC. God love him for keeping that company intact for as long as he could.

I never worked for Cary (did a couple freebies for him back in the day, though), but I was around him enough to know how much he truly cared about people. Tyrone has lost its ambassador, radio has lost a pioneer, and many have lost a true friend. Anyone have stories to share? Post 'em here!

 

[davideduardo]

I saw no one has posted anything of late regarding the passing of Mr. Cary Simpson. So here goes.

I was terribly saddened to learn of the passing of my friend, mentor, and colleague, Mr. Cary Simpson, on December 27th, 2016. He was truly an asset to small market radio, and to radio in northern and central Pennsylvania. At the height of his power, he owned the maximum amount of stations (prior to the 1992 ownership changes) then allowed by the FCC. God love him for keeping that company intact for as long as he could.

I never worked for Cary (did a couple freebies for him back in the day, though), but I was around him enough to know how much he truly cared about people. Tyrone has lost its ambassador, radio has lost a pioneer, and many have lost a true friend. Anyone have stories to share? Post 'em here!

I have known Cary since the mid-60's when his stations and the ones I owned were part of the International Broadcaster's Idea bank. When I had political trouble in Ecuador and lost my stations, he sent me words of encouragement. When my plan for expansion into NY, Miami and Hartford at the company I managed fell through due to problems at our parent company, he again let me know that radio took that sort of turns sometimes and that he knew I would be fine.

In other words, he cared about radio but, mostly, he cared about people.

Over the years he has sent me notes, most recently just a few years back to thank me for my website. He took the time because he was a friend.

I will miss him. He was one of radio's best.

 

[khoculock]

I have known Cary since the mid-60's when his stations and the ones I owned were part of the International Broadcaster's Idea bank. When I had political trouble in Ecuador and lost my stations, he sent me words of encouragement. When my plan for expansion into NY, Miami and Hartford at the company I managed fell through due to problems at our parent company, he again let me know that radio took that sort of turns sometimes and that he knew I would be fine.

In other words, he cared about radio but, mostly, he cared about people.

Over the years he has sent me notes, most recently just a few years back to thank me for my website. He took the time because he was a friend.

I will miss him. He was one of radio's best.

David...I didn't know you and Cary knew one another! I visit your site regularly when I'm researching a station. I contribute a lot of material about radio stations to Wikipedia and update pages about the ones I know. Your site is a very valuable resource.

Cary always made time for people. He loved getting emails, and it never took him more than a day to reply. What I particularly loved was the fact that after my daughter was born, the dynamic of our friendship shifted from radio to family. It was if he was saying "we've talked about radio all we can...now let's talk about your life as a new parent and how radio's going to figure into that." More specifically, he cautioned me about the perils of radio ownership vs. family life and that he was busy with his stations when he should have been home more.

It wasn't advice I wanted to hear, but I heeded it. So I work in another job full-time and run a Part 15 station out of my basement as a hobby, known as www.saxonburgradio.com. But he always wanted to hear news about my daughter, and he would talk to her like she was any other adult when he was around her. He got to see her from infancy to age 7 before he passed.