WHEB's Andy Blacksmith, r.i.p.

[Richard Chonak]

This seems to have slipped by us the other day: Andy Blacksmith of WHEB, 
a long-time heart patient, passed away on Saturday at Brigham & Women's 
Hospital.

http://www.fosters.com/article/20150621/NEWS/150629903

>     The news was broken to the local community via a Facebook post by
>     the morning talk show’s host Greg Kretschmar on Sunday morning.
>
>     “It is with heartbreaking sadness that we announce that we have
>     lost our friend, brother, and co-worker Andy Blacksmith,”
>     Kretschmar wrote. “Although he fought valiantly in the face of
>     long odds, this weekend, his heart grew too weak to fight anymore.”
>
>     The 50-year-old had spent the last five years awaiting a heart
>     transplant and only recently received a surgery to stabilize his
>     own weakened one during the continued wait for a donor. Blacksmith
>     was airlifted to Boston from Portsmouth Regional Hospital on
>     Tuesday following heart complications, according to a statement
>     from station owner iHeartMedia New Hampshire.
>
>     Although the airwaves will now be missing a voice that wasn’t
>     afraid to tell it like it was, Blacksmith can still be heard
>     bantering back and forth with the other members of the Morning
>     Buzz. The station ran segments titled “Best of The Buzz”
>     throughout the afternoon on Sunday and a show dedicated to
>     Blacksmith’s life will air when “Greg & The Morning Buzz” returns.
>