WKYQ and WiLLiE 102 mourn the loss of one of our own

Bristol Broadcasting and our staff are mourning the loss of one of our own, the Orange Man Craig Hayden. 

Hayden was a fixture of WKYQ in its rise. He had a tremendous voice and a natural ease behind the microphone. Hayden recently returned to Paducah and we were blessed to have him back on the airwaves until his passing on Wednesday. 

Bristol Broadcasting General Manager Jamie Futrell talked about the impact Hayden had on the station, "Orange Man started in 1981 along with Kent King and Kent Crider and was part of the trio of giants who were instrumental in building WKYQ into what we enjoy today. He was a very popular and well-known personality. Eventually, he left to pursue a very successful career in healthcare as a traveling nurse. After 25 years, he returned to Paducah to care for his mother. When he expressed interest in returning to radio, Dr. Jeff promptly put him on WLLE. Listeners instantly remembered him."

Dr. Jeff Lawrence said, "Orange was at the Radio Ranch already when I got there in 1984.  He taught me a lot, about on-air delivery, production techniques, and external appearances. When he returned to the area after a long career as an ER traveling nurse we put him back to working on the air. A natural, it was like he had never been gone."

Greg Dunker arrived at the Ranch two years later. He added, "To walk amongst giants is a rare thing. To have had the privilege of being here when the Mount Rushmore of Kent King, Kent Crider, and Craig "Orangeman" Hayden trod the earth is priceless. Learning from these three was the best education and experience one could hope to get in broadcasting. King, Crider, and Orangeman were instrumental in building WKYQ into the station we all enjoy today. Kent King left us some time ago. Crider is alive and well, but Orangeman went home to the Lord earlier this week. Saddened as we are by his passing, we are grateful that he returned to us to grace the airwaves on Willie 102. On the air, Craig Hayden made people happy. In life, he served and healed others with a long career in nursing, often in the most difficult circumstances. We are grateful for his lifetime of service in so many ways and cheered by memories of him." 

Hayden was 62. A memorial service will be held at noon on Thursday, August 1, at Milner and Orr Funeral Home of Lone Oak.


Photo: L-to-R   Dr. Jeff, Bobby Cook, and Orange Man