Long-time southern Colorado broadcaster, Jack Ralph Carter died

J. Ralph Carter

of ALS or “Lou Gehrigs” disease in his home last night, according to family and friends. Carter was 61 and was diagnosed with the disease at the beginning of this year.

Word spread throughout the broadcasting community Wednesday afternoon and former colleagues were shocked and saddened by the news, saying they didn’t even realize that he was ill.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” after the Baseball Hall of Famer who was diagnosed with the illness and retired from baseball in 1939, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. According to the ALS Association, approximately 5,600 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with the disease each year. Life expectancy can range from just a year or two to a small percentage of people who have lived with the disease for 20-years. There is no cure for ALS.

J. Ralph started his broadcasting career working at KDZA radio in Pueblo, fresh out of high school.  Bob Boshe, former colleague at the radio station remembers having lunch with Jack at the 29th Street Tastee Freeze in Pueblo. They were discussing what Jack’s radio name was going to be. Bob had heard J. Paul Huddleston, the Los Angeles radio news anchor and suggested to him, why not use J. Ralph Carter.  Soon, J. Ralph Carter was on the air.

He became a weather anchor for KOAA in the mid 70’s and continued to work there off and on for the next 20 years.  Dave Rose, former KOAA news director in the early 80’s, remembers hiring J. Ralph to do fill-in weather work. “I don’t even remember him having one down day.” said Rose, who echoes what many of Carter’s co-workers over the years are saying.

He was a “what can I do for you kind of guy,” remembers Lisa Lyden, KOAA news anchor. We used to do those 30-minute state fair specials after the 10:00 p.m. newscast and he was so much fun to work with, she said.

“J.Ralph helped many young broadcasters get their start in the business,” said Mark Murray, now a meteorologist in Austin, Texas. “He was a tremendous help to me in the late ’70s as a struggling young disc jockey in Pueblo radio, and in the ’80s as a rookie weekend weatherman at KOAA-TV.”

For many years J. Ralph hosted the KTSC program “Matchwits,” a weekly, high school academic quiz program that is now in its 25th season.

Carter was involved in broadcasting right up to his death, running a consulting business that sold software called MusicMix that automatically scheduled music for radio stations. “He was always full of new ideas, whether it was coming up with radio promotions or just thoughts on media in general,” said Dave Moore, who worked with J. Ralph on the project and in the early 80’s at KCCY radio.

Carter is survived by his wife Suzanne, his sister and mother.

A memorial service will be held this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at the T. G. McCarthy Funeral home in Pueblo.