Obituary of Gerald Hale

Gerald (Jerry) Michael Hale Sr…born May 15, 1947 passed away this last weekend at his residence in Lake Havasu City. Known to may along the Colorado River area as the "morning man" on KZUL radio, his personality touched many. Jerry came to Arizona back in the early 1970's to work for Lee Shoblom at KFWJ. According to Lee, "his warm and personable voice and great sense of humor quickly made him 'part of the family' to early day residents via the airwaves. He specialized in producing remote broadcasts from businesses on weekends, drawing hundreds of listeners wanting to meet him and try to win his many prizes. He was the primary voice of the famous KFWJ underwater broadcasts (even though he didn't know how to swim!), setting a new world record in the Guiness Book of Records from a diving tank under the London Bridge. He also broadcast the entire dedication ceremony of the Bridge in it's new home, both on KFWJ and BBC radio in London. Audio archives of these broadcasts are located at Havasu's Museum of History." Rick Murphy remembers, "I first met Jerry in Parker Arizona in 1974 when he began working for me at KZUL as my morning man. Jerry captured the imagination of the people of Parker and far exceeded the market with exceptional talent. He had a velvet voice and delivered the message with a skill and warmth that no one in Parker would forget. Jerry was my friend and will be missed by everyone he touched. He is now on the biggest radio station of all… God radio." During his radio career, Jerry gave many youth their first chance at broadcasting…voices like Steve Wood, Darci Dumm, Carlton Booth, and Shawn Kimmel just to name a few were those that he touched. From his early days as Denver Colorado's #1 Rock Jock where he introduced the Beatles at their Red Rocks concert and mingled with Elvis, Jerry covered it all. Furthering his career goals, Jerry branched out into publishing with both the Arizona Coast Magazine and the Sun Times Newspaper. During this period in his life he investigated stories that stirred up the community, and as he would say "kept people honest because news media's real role is a watchdog…as part of the balance of power in government." An avid supporter of the community, it was Jerry Hale who brought to the Parker Community the Arizona Coast Balloon Fest. He was also known as the Miss Parker Pagent Emcee. If there was any event where a host was needed, Jerry didn't hesitate to volunteer his talents. Jerry is survived by his three children; Peggie Hamilton of Lake Havasu City, Thomas Hale of Phoenix and Gerald (Mike) Hale Jr of Pembroke Pines, Florida; his mother Margaret Hale of Lake Havasu City; his grandchildren, Cassie Hale, Mikey Hamilton, Nathan Hale, Tom Hale Jr., Chasity Hale; his great-grandchildren Brittany and Bently Olsen. He will also be loved and missed by Terry and Blythe Watt of Havasu and by Debbie Hale of Parker. A Memorial will be held January 5, 2013 10:00 am at the Hampton Inn, Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Thoughts and condolences may be submitted to the family at www.lietz-frazefuneralhome.com Arrangements were placed under the care of Lietz-Fraze Funeral Home and Crematory.