R.I.P.: Pennsylvania Broadcaster Jerry Pollock

Sheldon Sharpless, Jerry Pollock

Central PA. radio personality Gerald “Jerry” Pollock passed away Monday at his home in Hawk Run, PA.

He was 69, according to the Centre County Daily Times .

He had spent 45 years on the airwaves at WPHB 120 AM with his good friend Sheldon Sharpless. Together, they were the voices of the Phillipsburg, PA area.

“I was absolutely devastated,” said Diana Stapleford, general manager of WPHB’s parent company, Magnum Broadcasting. “Even though he was ill. His listeners didn’t really realize. He wouldn’t complain about it. Every day he showed up at the radio station just like he did on the last day of his life.”

“The following that he had was just tremendous,” Stapleford said. When Pollock first fell ill, he received more than 3,000 cards from his audience, wishing him well.

On Tuesday, she and her husband joined the smaller station’s staff at the tiny building on U.S. Route 322 outside Philipsburg to deal with the loss.

“We sat and we fielded phone call after phone call after phone call,” she said. “You realized just the base of listeners that radio station has.”

The station manager said she will be working with P.J. Mullen and Chuck Myers to keep Pollock’s listeners happy with the unique, eclectic blend of country, oldies, gospel and polka that came to define his airtime.