Well I'm sad to say that our Sunday Morning Gospel show guy, Jay Shankle passed away Wednesday night. He had open heart surgery about a year ago, and we had hoped that would take care of the majority of his problems, but he checked himself into the hospital on Wednesday night and his heart was just too tired. He was 66 years old. I didn't get to visit with Jay much over the years, but I always enjoyed listening to his gospel show on Sunday. He was so knowledgeable about the artists, and his show was so heartfelt. He always made me smile with his "Shankisms"..I always knew if I couldn't remember who sang a certain gospel song that I could ask Shank, and he would know the answer!
He will be missed by not only us at King Country, but by everyone that ever heard him on the air. A memorial Service will be held Friday, April 17th at 2pm at Vondel L. Smith & Son located at 6934 S Western in Oklahoma City, and the family has requested that in lieu of flowers, a donation to the American Heart Association would be appreciated.
Jay was inducted into the Southern Legends Hall of Fame! Jay Shankle's radio career began in 1963 at KDSX in Sherman-Denison, Texas. From there he made stops in Wichita (KNIN '65-'68 & KFDI '72-'76) and in Oklahoma City at KTOK from 1968-1972 and KEBC from 1976-1984. It was at that time that he coined the phrase "Shank In Your Tank" as Oklahoma City rode home with him from 3-7.
Jay developed an early love and appreciation of Gospel music by singing in church and attending all day outdoor gospel singings. Jay also has a deep passion for finding hard to get records. In fact, Jay says he would rather find a "long-lost" song that eat or sleep. Those passions make him the perfect host for "The Sunday Morning Gospel Show".
Jay is survived by his two children...Amanda, 21 and Jayson, 18...both students at OU. Jay's favorite saying is "It's better to have loved a short girl, and lost, than never to have loved a tall!"
We'll miss you Shank..
KC - thank you for this report, which I've only now found. We so loved Jay Shankle and his SUNDAY MORNING GOSPEL show. I'm pretty good on gospel and all the old music - but Jay worked on a whole 'nuther level. We miss a lot of things - our old friends, the old songs, the old radio stations and shows - but here we are! We'll just have to carry on somehow!
ReplyDeleteThanks, again!