Randy Stewart, 67, longtime spokesman for KSMU, dies

Randy Stewart, the voice of public radio station KSMU, died of cancer on Monday, July 1. He was 67. His death was announced today, July 3, on KSMU’s Facebook page.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce that our friend and colleague at KSMU and a trusted voice to many, Randy Stewart, passed away late Monday night… he will be greatly missed,” KSMU’s post said.

Stewart was profiled by Springfield Daily Citizen columnist Steve Pokin in a March 19 article. This story is based heavily on the earlier profile. He was interviewed at the KSMU offices in Strong Hall on the campus of Missouri State University.

Stewart, who lives in Battlefield, is the longest-serving radio announcer in Springfield.

KSMU was founded in 1974. Stewart began working there as a student in 1976. He was hired full-time in 1978 and soon became the station’s music director at age 21.

Randy Stewart has never worked anywhere else

Stewart said in March that he had only filled out one application in his entire life: to KSMU.

“I’ve never worked anywhere else,” Stewart said in this profile. “This is it.”

He never seriously considered leaving KSMU. He was happy at KSMU.

“This is one of those jobs where it’s always good to work with people,” Stewart said. “It’s always been that way. They appreciate me. They appreciate the work I do. They appreciate the fact that I have interests and knowledge in certain areas that none of them have – or want to have.”

Stewart leaves behind his wife, Tammy, with whom he was married for 40 years. The couple has no children.

Known for his knowledge of classical music

Stewart was known for his knowledge of classical music and, to a lesser extent, opera.

He was also known for his Friday readings of the KSMU Arts Calendar, which he compiled from the many press releases sent to him by arts organizations. He rewrote them and often had a guest with a weekend event to join him in the studio to promote.

“It got to the point where many weeks of the year, many Fridays, I spend an entire hour reading press releases that I have rewritten in my own tone,” Stewart said.

His bosses have attended broadcast conferences across the country over the years where other executives have raised questions about how the arts program could attract an audience at all, Stewart said.

They say, ‘Nobody is going to sit down and listen to him read this stuff. I have news for you,’ Stewart said. “They have. And they have been doing so for over 30 years.”

Steve Tharp and Stewart met while attending Glendale High School. Stewart graduated from Glendale in 1975.

“Randy has changed remarkably little,” Tharp said in this March profile. “He still has the same interests. He’s still an incredibly nice person, an incredibly considerate person. Randy has always been the kind of person you want to have around when two people have a friendly argument. He was the mediator. He was the one who tried to square the circle or act as a moderator between two points of view.”

Tharp is now an associate professor of voice at the University of Missouri. He is a tenor who has performed internationally.

Awarded an Ozzie Award in 2006

Stewart won the Ozzie Award in 2006. Each year, the Springfield Regional Arts Council selects a handful of creative individuals, groups and organizations to receive the Ozzie Award for their work promoting the arts in the Ozarks.

Mike Smith, one of Stewart’s longtime collaborators at KSMU, was one of several who nominated Stewart.

“He has an incredible knowledge of classical music and the history of broadcasting,” Smith said in the March profile. “He is an interesting, talented and dedicated broadcaster who has done a lot for the region.”

Arlen Diamond, a former general manager of KSMU, was hired in 1978 as an instructor of broadcast programming and broadcast management at what was then Southwest Missouri State University.

In the March profile, Diamond told a story about young Randy Stewart’s extensive knowledge of classical music and opera.

“I can never remember that woman’s name,” Diamond said. “But she was an opera singer. Dame Something. Randy interviewed her upstairs in the production studio in the old building.”

KSMU’s old office and studio was in a dilapidated former house on the southwest corner of Grand and National. MSU also owned a brick building next door, which was also used by KSMU. Both buildings were demolished years ago.

“And when she came down after the interview with Randy,” Diamond said, “she said to me, ‘This young man knows more about opera than anyone who has ever interviewed me.'”

No, he never had a plan B

In the profile, Stewart was asked what he would have done in life if he hadn’t become a broadcaster. Was there ever a plan B?

“I never had one. I really didn’t. I thought it would be a cool thing to get into. I might be seen as unimaginative in that respect, but I just stumbled upon it and said, ‘OK, this is what I want to do.’ And I really didn’t think of anything else.”

Stewart retired on March 31. He had originally planned to work until age 70, but that plan was derailed by a bout of cancer in 2021.

“My wife and I didn’t know how sick I really was,” he said in March.

He was treated with chemotherapy, radiation and then immunotherapy. He lost half of the lung function in one lung.

The KSMU Facebook post stated that the funeral is imminent and that KSMU will hold a memorial service for Stewart in the near future.

Steve Pokin

Steve Pokin writes the columns Pokin Around and The Answer Man for the Springfield Daily Citizen. He also writes about criminal justice issues. He can be reached at [email protected]. His office number is 417-837-3661. More from Steve Pokin