43
Colleagues mourn death of longtime broadcaster
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Don Guthrie, a broadcast fixture in the Mahoning Valley for more than four decades, died Sunday after a bout with cancer. He was 71.
The longtime chief meteorologist for WKBN-TV was a familiar face to viewers and well-respected by his colleagues.
“He was a lot more than our weather leader,” said Mitch Davis, news director of WKBN-TV. “He was a friend to me and our entire team. Our hearts are breaking for his loss. There isn’t a dry eye in the building.”
Davis said Guthrie was “a true professional. He was very welcoming.”
Calling hours will be Thursday from 3 to 7 p.m. at St. Christine’s Church, 3165 S. Schenley Ave., Youngstown. A prayer service will begin at 10 a.m. Friday at the church.
Guthrie’s career at WKBN-TV began 35 years ago. He left the station in April, and shortly thereafter, the station announced that he had pancreatic cancer.
Guthrie was born in Youngstown in 1943 and lived in the area his entire life. His interest in broadcasting began at Mohawk High School in Bessemer, Pa., from which he graduated in 1961.
He married his wife, Debbie, in 1973, and the couple had three children.
Guthrie graduated from the National Academy of Broadcasting in Washington, D.C., in 1962 and began his career in broadcasting as a disc jockey at WEER-AM in Warrenton, Va. He worked at WKWK and WNEU in Wheeling, W.Va., from 1965 to 1970.
He started at WKBN radio in 1970, where he was a disc jockey and program director. He moved over to WKBN-TV in 1980, starting as the noon news weatherman, and later becoming the forecaster for the 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts.
Guthrie earned a degree in broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State University in 1994 and later became accredited by the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association.
He was inducted into the Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame last year.
After WKBN-TV announced that Guthrie had cancer in May 2014, the broadcaster received an outpouring of support. Letters and notes from viewers expressing their support arrived at the newsroom on a regular basis.
In September, hundreds of people turned out for a benefit dinner for Guthrie at the Italian Fraternal Home club in Girard. “This is just amazing,” he told a reporter from The Vindicator at the dinner. “I knew there would be quite a few people, but I didn’t know there would be this many people.”
At the dinner, he gave advice to those facing similar battles that reflected his poise and cheerful determination. “You’ve got to keep on keeping on,” he said. “Just stay positive. Anybody else that has any problem, it doesn’t matter if it is cancer or not, stay on the bright side.”
David Coy, president and general manager of WKBN-TV, said Monday that it is a sad day for everyone at the station. “Don was a leader and an inspiration for all of us,” said Coy.
Former WKBN newscaster Gina Marinelli co-anchored the station’s newscasts from 1994 to 2005 with the late Tom Holden and Guthrie.
She recalled Guthrie as a mentor and a friend who made her feel welcome.
“Don loved his job, and ironically, he would have loved a day like today,” Marinelli said Monday. “Even before all the technology we have today, Don was pretty accurate in his forecasting. He was the ‘go-to’ guy when weather was threatening.
“A few months ago I sat with him during a chemo treatment,” she continued. “I wasn’t sure what to expect. I brought along some photo albums of the WKBN news team through the years, but we spent the whole afternoon reminiscing about the old days and just laughing. We never did get around to looking at the photo albums.”
Newscaster Bob Black worked with Guthrie for 17 years at WKBN-TV, beginning in 1980.
“We had a lot of fun,” said Black, who now anchors the news on 21 WFMJ-TV. “During commercial breaks we’d always find something humorous to talk about.”
Black agreed that Guthrie was at his best during threatening weather. “In a severe weather situation, you want someone knowledgeable and not an alarmist who would scare the bejeebers out of everyone, and that’s the way he was.”
Guthrie’s authenticity was an integral part of his success, said Black.
“The camera doesn’t lie in this business, and what you would see with Don is what you got,” Black said. “He was the same guy on camera as he was off camera. That is why he was so enormously popular. A very friendly and likable guy that you wanted to be around.”
Tricia Perry worked with Guthrie from 1991 to 2007 when she was a reporter for WKBN-TV.
“Don was forever professional and unruffled in a business where tense moments are plentiful,” recalled Perry. “He had that unmistakable voice, a great laugh, an engaging smile and a biting wit. He would amble through the newsroom every day about 4 o’clock and stop to say hi and share some gossip. This was the busiest time of day for me, and him, too, but we took five to chat and I am glad we did.”
Michele Ristich Gatts worked closely with Guthrie from 1988 to 1998, starting as an intern and ending as executive news producer.
“No matter what my position was there, he always treated me with kindness, respect and friendship,” said Ristich Gatts. “And whenever there was a weather event — day, night or weekend — just when you’d think, ‘We’d better start preparing coverage,’ Don would walk in, ready to take the reigns when we needed him most.”
Jack Grdic, general manager of WFMJ-TV, expressed condolences to the family and colleagues of Guthrie. “Don was a class act and a talented meteorologist and he will be missed,” said Grdic.
WFMJ News Director Mona Alexander echoed that sentiment. “Don was a one-of-a-kind,” she said. “Our hearts go out to him and his family.”