Radio personality Steve Kerrigan loses battle with cancer

DAYTON — Miami Valley radio icon Steve Kerrigan died Monday morning at James Cancer Hospital in Columbus after a lengthy battle with cancer.

The retired K-99.1 FM morning host was 51.

Kerrigan, who will be inducted this year into the Dayton Area Broadcasters Hall of Fame, was remembered as a good man by Donna Hall, senior vice president of marketing for Cox Media Group Ohio.

“He made K-99 a better place,” Hall said. “He was fun and he was energetic. He was a really hard worker, and he was a good friend.”

Nancy Wilson, Kerrigan’s former co-host on K-99.1, called Kerrigan a remarkable talent.

“He could find humor in anything,” Wilson said.

Wilson raised $50,000 for a research grant in Kerrigan’s name as part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s 2009 Woman of the Year campaign.

Nick Roberts, K-99.1 program director, said it was an honor to have Kerrigan at the station.

“He will always be near to our hearts,” Roberts said.

Before joining Wilson in 2006 on K-99.1, Kerrigan was best known for his 18-year stint with Christopher Geisen on WTUE-FM’s morning show.

“He was one of the guys that helped awaken the Miami Valley for a long, long time,” Hall said.

Kerrigan was diagnosed in June 2008 with multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells. After chemotherapy and a stem cell implant in November 2008, he went into remission and returned to Dayton’s airwaves. Kerrigan retired from K-99.1 in May 2010.

He served as honorary chairman of the American Cancer Society’s annual Relay for Life in Kettering, and he appeared at numerous blood drives for the Community Blood Center.

“He had no idea how talented he was or how much he meant to so many people, and what an inspiration he was in this battle,” Wilson said.

Kerrigan leaves behind his wife, Monique, five children, and his mother, two brothers and a sister.

Visitation will be from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday at Adams Funeral Home in Sidney. Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at Holy Angels Church in Sidney.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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