I didn’t know it was goodbye when I visited Charlene Lewis in her hospital room at St. John’s Medical Center Wednesday afternoon. I knew it wasn’t good. She wasn’t conscious and had a hard time just breathing. But, I thought we still had a few days.
I’ve only known Charlene for four years. It didn’t take long for me to grow attached to her upbeat personality. I even grew to depend on it and missed her horribly when she wasn’t the board operator on the weekends during my shift. Plus, she always brought me breakfast and two chocolate ho-ho’s. We even shared stories and tears, some happy, some sad.
About a year ago, she came into the newsroom to tell me something was wrong with her stomach. We didn’t think much of it until her first visit to the doctor. The pain in her stomach turned out to be cancer in her ovaries that had already spread to her other organs.
These last few weeks have been the most heartbreaking. She had just started a new chemo treatment that doctors said would knock her on her knees. They were right. I drove my friend to several treatments, knowing I was bringing her to a place that would create unbearable pain.
Two weeks ago, Charlene’s appearance and personality dramatically changed. Just getting into my car took several minutes. I picked up her feet and placed them on the floorboard in hopes of avoiding another jab of pain to her back. Her permanent smile and famous laugh were both gone. She tried to laugh at my stories, but couldn’t muster the strength as her face stayed in the same blank stare.
I was in the elevator at KRMG Thursday morning when I got a text from her husband that said, “Charlene went to heaven at 9:53 pm tonight, what a beautiful soul, and a great mother, God bless you sweetie.” The news led to a rare quiet morning in the newsroom as the crew mourned the loss of a co-worker and friend.
Charlene’s spirit and impact on each of us at KRMG still lives, through the memories of both her unwavering cheerfulness and her angelic voice.
Glenn Schroeder, KRMG anchor, says, “She was beautiful inside and out, just a beautiful human being.”
That’s the first thing everyone here says when swapping stories about Charlene.
“I never heard her say anything bad, even in a joking way, anything bad about anyone. She was just a terrific human being and I’m really going to miss her.”
Dick Loftin, KRMG‘s Senior Producer, says, “Her voice was just unbelievable. It was sincere. It was rich. She could sell anything with her voice.”
Charlene has a history of more than 20 years as a DJ in Tulsa radio.
Her gigs included KRMG, KVOO, KBEZ and KXOJ.
She had lots of stories about encounters with country music legends like Garth Brooks and Clint Black.
She also dabbled in television.
You may remember her voice from the "Donahue weekdays at 4!" promos on KJRH.
Charlene was also the on-camera talent for the PreVue Channel.
She leaves behind her husband David and teenaged daughter Abby.