MELANIE APPLE WILLIAMS 1959 -- 2007
Richard
A Radio Star and Messenger of Faith
Thursday, April 05, 2007
BY BARRY FOX
The Patriot-News
Melanie Apple Williams, 47, the one-time voice of the WHP 580 AM
morning show, has died of a lung disorder.
"It's sad to hear," said Dennis Edwards, her former on-air partner.
"Nobody should go that young."
Williams, who died Monday, is the third local radio personality to die
in five weeks.
Lyndi Starr, 23, of WQXA 105.7 FM, died March 20, 10 days after giving
birth to her first child, a girl. Starr had been a weekend on-air
personality at the station since 2003.
Jeff "The Jammer" Kauffman, 57, of WTPA 93.5 FM, died of a heart
attack March 2. He had been a disc jockey with the station's morning
team, "Coffey and the Jammer," on and off for nearly 20 years.
Williams was diagnosed in 2003 with primary pulmonary hypertension, an
incurable condition that constricts the flow of blood to the lungs.
When she was diagnosed, her lung function was so diminished that other
organs were being crippled. Fifteen months ago, she had a double-lung
transplant.
She debuted on WHP in 1992 and was teamed with Rod Fritz, Mark Roberts
and Edwards during her eight years at the station.
She was dismissed from WHP in September 2000 in a station
"realignment."
"I'm just still taking it in," said Edwards, who is on the morning
team at WSBA 910 AM in York. "That was one of the better times in my
career. I thought we were a good team. When you're paired with
someone, there is a lot of ways that it could go, but we gelled very
well. We got along on the air and off."
At Faith Presbyterian Church in Lower Paxton Twp., Williams was the
moderator of the board of deacons and led the children's services, the
Rev. John Schmidt said.
Children gathered around her. With the charisma that kept her on the
radio for years, she used a show-and-tell approach to deliver the
message that God loved them.
"The kids just loved her, and she loved them," Schmidt said.
Healing services were held for her at the church, and they have become
a monthly event for all congregants, he said.
In December 2005, Williams had been on a waiting list for a pair of
lungs, but her health had worsened to the point where her donor status
was downgraded to "hold." That meant if donor organs became available,
they would go to the next person on the list.
On Dec. 13 that year, about 30 friends gathered at Faith Presbyterian
Church to pray for her. Two days after that prayer service, Williams'
health improved enough to restore her spot on the transplant list. She
had the transplant Dec. 20.
Williams received a standing ovation when she returned to Faith
Presbyterian last spring, Schmidt said.
"She was the heart of our congregation in many regards," he said.
Williams' survivors include her husband, son, mother and sister. Her
funeral is to be at 11 a.m. Monday at Faith Presbyterian.
WQXA, "The X," plans to hold a benefit concert for Starr's daughter
from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at the West Shore Hardware Bar. Proceeds
from the show, which will include a silent auction of memorabilia, are
to go to a trust fund for the baby.
WTPA plans a tribute to Kauffman at 5 p.m. April 19 at the Coliseum
Entertainment Megaplex in Camp Hill. Proceeds are to benefit the
Multiple Sclerosis Society. Kauffman's wife died several years ago of
MS.
BARRY FOX: 255-8225 or bf...@patriot-news.com
Brad Ferguson
Richard <lcp...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> MELANIE APPLE WILLIAMS 1959 -- 2007
> A Radio Star and Messenger of Faith
>
> Thursday, April 05, 2007
>
> BY BARRY FOX
> The Patriot-News
>
> Melanie Apple Williams, 47, the one-time voice of the WHP 580 AM
> morning show, has died of a lung disorder.
>
> "It's sad to hear," said Dennis Edwards, her former on-air partner.
> "Nobody should go that young."
>
> Williams, who died Monday, is the third local radio personality to die
> in five weeks.
"Local" is Harrisburg PA.