R.I.P.: WFMT Chicago Radio's Jim Unrath

Jim Unrath

The voice of Jim Unrath has been stilled.  He was, a familiar voice on classical music WFMT 98.7 FM in Chicago.

Unrath, whose career spanned 40 years at Chicago’s fine arts station, died Sunday in Stockton, California, at 78, according to Chicago Media Writer Robert Feder.

He had been recovering from surgery to remove his spleen when he suffered heart failure, according to Lois Baum, a longtime friend and colleague at WFMT.

Calling Unrath “a treasured member of the WFMT staff for 40 years,” Steve Robinson, executive vice president and general manager of the Window to the World Communications station, said in a statement: “He always brought a high degree of professionalism, mixed with humor, to every position he held at the station. . . . His contribution to WFMT will never be forgotten.”