Ron Allen passes away

[arehkopf]

Ron Allen was the ghost in the halls of the once-Mighty 590 when I was hired as ND in 1996. Everywhere you went, somebody there had a great Ron Allen story or quote. It really was WWRD (What Would Ron Do?) as a philosophy for many there.

I had the pleasure of talking to him on the telephone a couple of times, but never met him in person. He was encouraging and funny in those brief chats, and I could see why he was loved there.

While I knew Melanie and Terry personally, and continue to mourn their loss; I mourn Ron's passing as well, as much for his legacy at WARM than anything.

From my wife and family, our deepest condolences to Ron's family and friends.

Bill Rehkopf
KDKA-Pittsburgh

 

[warmland]

WBRE and WNEP had the very sad news about Ron Allen. WNEP had talked to Tom Woods about Ron Allen last night. Nice to have seen you on TV Tom Woods.

No disrespect, please, but can the media, print and electronic, find someone to speak with about Ron who worked with him in, say, the last twenty or so years? Harry West immediately jumps to mind. How about Ray Magwyre? Tom Woods last worked with Ron forty-five(45)years ago. While his thoughts are important, and Tom and Ron were pals, there are others with somewhat more recent memories. Ron's life most assuredly did not stop in the early '60s, he did some of his finest work long, long after that.

Didn't WNEP know that their own Tim Karlson worked with Ron at WARM? Is he still working there?

 

[Tom Woods]

No disrespect please, but can the media, print and electronic, find someone to speak with about Ron who worked with him in, say, the last twenty or so years? Harry West immediately jumps to mind. How about Ray Magwyre? Tom Woods last worked with Ron forty-five(45)years ago. While his thoughts are important, and Tom and Ron were pals, there are others with somewhat more recent memories. Ron's life most assuredly did not stop in the early '60s, he did some of his finest work long, long after that.
[/quote]

Your really something else.

 

[berniek]

Tom:

Don't let them get you down. While I did not see it, I am sure you did a great job in recalling the work and impact of Ron. And, if most people knew the close on going relationship you had with Ron, then they would have never posted their comments.

Mark T

 

[crmc]

Tom.... the eulogy that you offered for Ron at his funeral service was a heartwarming look inside the special friendship you had.
It was clear by the comments from his family, the media couldn't have picked a better person to comment on Ron's passing. A lifelong friend and a trusted colleague, who better to reflect?
Nice job. Ronzo was no doubt smiling as he looked down!!

 

[Patrick Castellani]

l was quite saddened to learn about Ron's passing. I had the honor and pleasure of working with Ron during the 1980s. Ron was a champion broadcaster and always made his job look easy. Ron's customary greeting to me was "Kid, sports is brutal, but engineering is murder", and then he would crack that famous smile. I would then listen attentively to his take on world situation. He was just a wealth of information on a broad range of subjects.

It was quite apparent which holiday was around the corner when Ron was heard in the large production room doing the voice of Tommy Feathers with the sound of cackling turkeys boiling out of the headphones. I'm not certain, but Ron may have originated the phrase "and down the stretch they come". The bit just flowed from him with the usual one take.

Ron would sometimes take his sports show on the road and, as an engineer from behind the scenes, I watched many major national sports figures interviewed. It was especially interesting to watch Ron interact with sports legends as though they had been next-door neighbors all their lives. He had a way of putting his guests on the show at ease. They readily reciprocated his professionalism. I can still recall the joy in Ron's face as spring training approached. As I packed his live broadcast gear in a suitcase and gave him some quick tutorial on how to connect things so that he could broadcast from his hotel room, it was obvious to me that this was one of Ron's favorite annual rituals. He loved to go to Florida to immerse himself in that environment.

Ron was an early adopter of technology. I was invited to Ron's home several times to assist him in the marriage between his television and his sound system, forming what was essentially one of the pioneering efforts in home theater in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton area. When Ron watched his beloved teams on TV, he wanted it to sound like he was at the stadium while in his living room. He did achieve that goal. He also was an early adopter of PC technology and Mary Ann informed me that Ron had also embraced HDTV.

Although the circumstances were sad, it was comforting to see some familiar faces from my WARM and Magic 93 past at the celebration of Ron's life on Saturday. Although I had never met Tom Woods before (he was, prior to this day, a familiar name in the legendary tales of WARM's past), I will forever remember and draw inspiration from his dual eulogies, both the one that he delivered for Kent Westling and his own eulogy to Ron, from his heart.

Ron will be missed. My thoughts and prayers continue for his family.

Patrick Castellani