ANTA ANA, CA (ANS) -- On hearing the news that Southern California’s beloved Christian talk broadcaster, Rich Buhler, had died in a local Orange County, California, hospital at 10:30 PM on Monday, a veteran Southern California radio executive has recalled for the ASSIST News Service his memories of Buhler.

Dianne and Rich Buhler

Buhler, who was 65 years old at the time of his death, had been battling pancreatic cancer since he was first diagnosed in July 2010, and the news of his passing was made by his son Keith on the website www.caringbridge.org.

In the posted message, Keith said, “Beloved friends and family, Rich is now face to face with Jesus. Last night (May 7th) at 10:30 p.m., in the hospital, our daddy completed his life's course and enters now into the rest of our Lord.”

Richard McIntosh, General Manager of the KWVE Radio Network and KWVE 107.9 FM (www.kwve.com), agreed to share some of his fondest memories of the man who was known as the “Dean of Christian Talk Radio.”

He began by saying, “In 1980 I was managing K-PRAISE 1150 AM in Los Angeles. We had a Christian format on the station. Across town a radio station affectionately called K-BRITE (KBRT-AM 740) was purchased by Don Crawford and Don began airing Christian programming on the station.

“K-BRITE played all music, but the station had the unique perspective of hiring general market talent to work on the Christian station. One of those people was Rich Buhler, who was the newsman for K-BRITE. Rich had worked at all news KFWB station. The music format did not work well and the big time disk jockeys were let go and programs were added. Rich had a unique idea to air a Christian oriented talk show in the afternoon and he survived the firings. The program was called ‘Talk From The Heart’.

Richard McIntosh pictured with his wife Peg

“I moved from Los Angeles to work for another company and ‘Talk From The Heart’ exploded into the premier Christian talk show in America. Rich had a great run at K-BRITE during the 1980’s. Toward the end of that time, KKLA and K-WAVE (KWVE) had begun airing Christian programming and the radio audience began a migration to the FM dial.

“As K-BRITE was winding down, Rich had already started an advertising agency called Branches Communications. I had done business with Rich’s agency over the years and even when I was not managing a radio station Rich and I would go to lunch and discuss mutual friends, matters of faith and radio.”

McIntosh went on to say, “Rich was a radio man to the bone. When I came to K-WAVE (KWVE) in 2006 Rich was still in business with the agency and we renewed the business relationship. A year or so ago Rich came down with the cancer that claimed his life on Monday. What I know is that Rich knew Jesus as his savior and today Rich is in heaven free of pain and suffering.

“I miss Rich Buhler. He was a fellow broadcaster, business associate and brother in Christ. Rich, I will see you some day in Glory. Thank you for setting the standard in Christian Talk programming in Southern California and in America.”

A colleague of Richard McIntosh, Deloy Sterns, who is the program loader for KWVE/KSDW Radio and K-Wave Radio Network, told ANS, “Rich Buhler was to Southern California Christian radio, what Walter Cronkite, Chet Huntley and David Brinkley, were to the U.S.TV Network Evening News Broadcasts.

“I also loved his website Truth or Fiction (www.truthorfiction.com),” said Sterns. “It was a great resource for broadcasters to track down those e-mail urban legend stories.”

Sterns also revealed that Rich Buhler was listed in the end credits for a 70s film called “Kathryn Kuhlman - A Tribute To A Yielded Life”, which can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtHxCkYQYDg&feature=youtu.be

Helen Elli Cardoff, a close friend of Rich Buhler, has paid her own tribute to the late broadcaster. On her Facebook page, she posted, “As a Christian radio personality, his wisdom and compassionate heart for those in emotional pain, helped me incredibly in my steps to recovery. Later he joined my church and we worked together creating a program helping the homeless and lost to get back to the society.

“He was a great man who crossed my heart and left his footprints forever. Bon voyage! See you in Heaven Pastor Buhler!”

The funeral for Rich Buhler is planned for May 19 at the Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Anaheim, California, and is open to the public.”

Note from Dan Wooding: Please pray for Rich’s wife Dianne, who herself has been dealing with breast cancer, and their families, as they come to turns with their great loss.

Dan Wooding, 71, is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 48 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS) and was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC. He hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on the KWVE Radio Network in Southern California and which is also carried throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK and also in Belize and South Africa. Besides this, Wooding is a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries and also provides a regular commentary for Worship Life Radio on KWVE. You can follow Dan Wooding on Facebook under his name there or at ASSIST News Service. Dan has recently received two top media awards -- the "Passion for the Persecuted" award from Open Doors US, and one of the top "Newsmakers of 2011" from Plain Truth magazine. He is the author of some 44 books, the latest of which is "Caped Crusader: Rick Wakeman in the 1970s." To order a copy, go to: http://www.amazon.com/CAPED-CRUSADER-Rick-Wakeman-1970s/dp/1908728302/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335474883&sr=1-1 . Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, has also recently released his first novel “Red Dagger” which is available this link.