HOLLAND (WHTC) — The WHTC talk icon and beloved West Michigan resident Juke Van Oss died early Monday morning.
“Most importantly, Juke was a friend to all of us,” said WHTC/VAN General Manager Kevin Oswald on WHTC Monday, his voice filled with emotion. “He will be missed greatly.”
He’d worked on Friday, interviewing historian and former Holland Sentinel editor Randy VandeWater. On Sunday, Mr. Van Oss taught a Sunday school class, according to his family.
A special Talk of the Town program is underway, devoted to remembering and celebrating his life. Calls are coming in from across Michigan and as far away as Florida, with many former Holland residents listening to WHTC’s shows online. (Check out WHTC’s Juke Van Oss photo gallery.)
Via social media, his fans shared warm memories. Cindi DeJong wrote on Facebook, “… You never would have known it from listening to him on Talk of the Town! He was a very interesting guy who was always willing to give anyone their say. I loved listening to him on WHTC. He was the biggest reason I tuned in every morning! I’ll greatly miss him and his cheerful voice. WHTC won’t be the same; nobody can fill Juke’s shoes! My sympathy to his family and everyone else who loved him.”
He was born in 1923 at a farm near Graafschap, a second-generation Dutch-American who grew up in Holland and Dowagiac before serving in World War II in the Army. His military service included tours of duty in the Philippines and Korea.
After the war, Mr. Van Oss worked at the Weller Nurseries Company in the Holland area before getting hired at WHTC as an engineer on August 12, 1951. His on-air career started shortly afterward, according to an oral history he shared with Hope College researchers.
“I became an announcer on the early morning shift” he told researchers. “Mike Basket was also on the early morning shift as an announcer. He sometimes was late. One time, he was very late and the choice was that either I go on the air, or we were not going on the air, so I did it. It wasn’t long after that that Mike quit the job, and I volunteered to work the first hour of the broadcast day, which was six to seven back then, as a combo man. I guess I was the first combo man in Holland.”
In 1959, Mr. Van Oss partnered with Bill Gargano to host “Talk of the Town,” originally a half-hour program aimed at housewives. His solo hosting duties started in 1981.
Along the way, Mr. Van Oss moved to a farm in Saugatuck, won seats on the school board and the then-Saugatuck Village council. he joined the Lions Club, American Legion and Chamber of Commerce
He was married to the former Janet Camp for 49 years. She preceded him in death in 1997.
Mr. Van Oss is survived by his wife, Norma, and three of his four children: Blair, Julie and Jim.
His memorial is set for Thursday.
