BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Don Webb, Cincinnati's "Dean of Radio Newsmen," died Monday at Good Samaritan Hospital. He was 71.
A voice familiar to many Cincinnatians for nearly four decades, Donald L. Webb Sr. dreamed of a career in radio as a youngster. He got his break in 1942 at WPAY-AM in his hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio, while in high school.
Mr. Webb was meant to be on the air, said Jeff Henderson, acting news director at WLW-AM and a former co-anchor with Mr. Webb in the 1980s. He was admired as a newsman, and respected as a gentleman, Mr. Henderson said.
"He was my co-anchor, he was my teacher, he was my mentor, he was even in my wedding," Mr. Henderson said. "He was my friend."
Mr. Webb moved to Cincinnati in 1943 to work for the combined staffs of WLW-AM and WSAI-AM radio stations. After a stint in the Navy in the Armed Forces Radio service in Hawaii, he returned to Cincinnati to work for WSAI while attending Xavier University. Mr. Webb joined WKRC-AM and Taft Broadcasting in 1950, serving as news director in the 1960s, and for seven years he anchored WKRC-TV's Channel 12 news.
He first retired in 1983. But after a few months, old radio friends at WLW offered him a position in the news department -- and Mr. Webb returned to the roots of his Cincinnati career.
He was heard on the air in the afternoons until permanently retiring in 1990 after a heart operation.
Active in the broadcasting community, Mr. Webb was a member of Sigma Delta Chi, now the Society of Professional Journalists, and was a past president of the Ohio Associated Press News Broadcasting Association.
His peers often referred to him as "The Dean."
Dick Favret, a former sales manager at WKRC-AM when Mr. Webb worked there, said Mr. Webb's big, heavy voice left a distinctive impression on his fans. Shows he worked on were popular among listeners, and advertisers, he said.
"He had the best pipes in the city," said Mr. Henderson.
But Mr. Webb's booming voice was small compared with his big heart, said Ed Marks, a former newsman at WKRC who worked with Mr. Webb. While a career in radio can get hectic, Mr. Webb's care for his wife and children was a constant reminder for his coworkers of the importance of family life, said Mr. Marks, now an attorney.
"He was also a wonderful husband and father," said Mr. Webb's wife, Jane Egan Webb, who survives in Western Hills. The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary earlier this year. They shared a wonderful life, she said.
Along with his accomplishments on the air, he was a family man, she said. Mr. Webb made a point of being there for his children and his wife, Mrs. Webb added.
Also surviving are: four daughters, Julie Webb Duffy of Salt Lake City, Mary Lynn Webb Sunderman of Western Hills, Laura Jane Webb of Western Hills and Katie Webb Blank of Monroe, Conn.; a son, Don Webb Jr. of Brookville, Ind.; a brother, Roy Webb of Columbus; and seven grandchildren.
Visitation will be 5-8 p.m. Thursday at Dalbert & Woodruff Funeral Home, 2880 Boudinot Ave., Westwood. Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, 2832 Rosebud Drive, Westwood.
Interment will be at New St. Joseph Cemetery, Price Hill.
Memorials may be made to Children's Hospital Research Hematology - Oncology, 3333 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati 45229; or Our Lady of Lourdes Building Fund, 2832 Rosebud Drive, Cincinnati 45238.
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