O’NEILL – Hall of fame broadcaster and Nebraska radio pioneer Gil Poese has died. KBRX in O’Neill announced Thursday morning that its longtime owner passed away Wednesday at age 93.
Gil Poese was a native of Emma, Missouri, graduated high school at Waverly, Missouri and graduated Pathfinders School of Radio in Kansas City in 1948.
His first job in radio was at WLOI, La Porte, Indiana from 1949 to 1952. While there, he also served his country in Korea.
He continued to work in radio at various locations and then moved to O’Neill at KBRX in 1959, where he was offered the opportunity to purchase the station. In 1961, papers were drawn up for Ranch Land Broadcasting, with Gil as Owner and President.
In 1974, KBRX FM officially went on the air and in 1981 was upgraded to 100,000 watts. KBRX is also noted for having one of the longest running programs in the state, called “Party Line.”
During the Vietnam War, KBRX broadcast all military funerals. “We wanted to make people aware that we were in a war,” said Gil.
The success of the stations was reflected in Gil’s hard work. Gil was active at the station at 92, and could be heard daily reading the news along with other duties.
In 2005, Gil was named Nebraska’s Outstanding Older Worker. He remained active in his community as a member of the American Legion and served on their color guard/firing squad at veterans’ funerals. He was a Friend of the Library, serving as their president for six years, and was an elder in the First Presbyterian church, a member of the Greater Nebraska Workforce Board and served twenty years on the O’Neill School Board. He was a member of the O’Neill Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, the NBA, Eagles and a member of the O’Neill Hall of Fame.
His family was the joy of his life. He and his wife have a blended family of eight children, twenty-one grandchildren and two great grandchildren, and they treasure their family times.
Poese was inducted into the Nebraska Broadcasters Association Hall of Fame in 2008. Funeral services are pending.
