Female Voice of 'Chicago's Very Own' Dead at 85

[Mark Jeffries]

Merri Dee was the only woman who said over the intro to Roger Whitaker's "The Last Farewell" "WGN Television 9, Chicago's Very Own Television Station."  She was with WGN for 36 years, starting as a staff announcer, becoming a lottery drawing host and later director of community affairs for the station:

https://abc7chicago.com/merri-dee-chicago-dead-kidnapping/11656851/

Ms. Dee started her career as a radio DJ and hosted talk shows on Chicago indies WCIU and WSNS.  While sitting in her car outside WSNS' then-North Side studios in 1971 with a psychic who was a guest on her show, she and the guest were kidnapped and she was forced to drive to another location, where both were shot.  The psychic died, but she amazingly survived and got the WGN gig a year later.