R.I.P.: Indiana Radio Broadcaster Ken Coe

Ken Coe

Ken Cole, president of WLOI 1540 AM and Country WCOE 96.7 FM in LaPorte IN and member of the Indiana Broadcast Hall of Fame, died early Thursday.

He was 78-years-of-age, according to nwi.com.

He's remembered not only for his decades as host of the popular call-in program "Sound-Off" and commitment to heavy coverage of local news and sports, but also for his jovial and warm personality.

"He was sort of like a teddy bear in lots of ways. You just couldn't help but like the guy," said former LaPorte Mayor Leigh Morris, who became good friends with Coe during his more than 20-year run as president and CEO at LaPorte Hospital.

Coe was in grade school when he'd tag along with his father, Dee, on Saturdays to his job as general manager of WIND-AM in Gary.

His dad, also a member of the Indiana Broadcast Hall of Fame, later formed a group that founded WWCA-AM, also in Gary, where Ken, then in the seventh grade, began getting coffee for staff members and running other errands.

The family later became owners of four radio stations in Gary, LaPorte and South Haven, Michigan. But after Ken's father died in 1981, only the LaPorte stations were kept to have a more reasonable workload.

After turning 70, Coe took a back seat to running the radio stations, but still remained active in some of the decision making and stopped in from time to time.