David H Van Drew

david van drew
David H. Van Drew, 68, of Rochelle passed away Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, at his home in Rochelle. He was born Dec. 12, 1944 to Harold and Dorothy (Miller) Van Drew in Atlanta, Ga. David married Dianne Belkholm on Sept. 10, 1977, in Princeton. David started his radio career in high school and followed that by earning his degree at the Midwest School of Broadcasting. While serving in the Army, he hosted a weekly radio show in Saigon, Vietnam, during the Vietnam War. He continued working in the radio industry for the rest of his lifetime. He worked for WKEI in Kewanee, for WZOE in Princeton as the news and sports broadcaster, and has been the co-owner of WRHL for the last 22 years, but retired as the general manager in 2010. In 2011, he was awarded the Broadcast Pioneer Award. David was a lifelong Chicago sports fan. . . after giving up on the Cubs, he had high hopes for the Bears. David is survived by his wife, Dianne; his brother, John (Noralee) Van Drew; his sister-in-law, Joanne (Greg Jensen) Sheldon; three nieces, Sarah (Mario) Ruiz, Susan (Matt) Hoffman and Melissa (Mike) Verucchi; one nephew, John Van Drew; four great nieces, two great nephews and his dog, Baxter. He is preceded in death by his parents. The family would like to thank the VNA Hospice, the Rochelle Fire Department and Sharon Allen with In Touch Home Care! Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Unger-Horner Funeral Home, 400 N. 6th St., Rochelle. There will be a short visitation from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Friday at at the Grant Johnson Funeral Home, 30 W. Mechanic St., Princeton. The funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Grant Johnson Funeral Home. Burial will be at the Elm Lawn Memorial Park in Princeton. Memorials may be made to the Rochelle Fire Department, Gateway Services in Princeton or TAILS in DeKalb.

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