TOLEDO, Ohio — Kara Steele said it may sound strange, but she considered Gary Shores her second father. She knew him well and spent a lot of time with him as the daughter of Shores' longtime radio co-host, Harvey J. Steele.
The "Shores and Steele" show on K100 was the No. 1 show in the Toledo market for decades.
Harvey J. Steele died in 2017. Shores went off the air in 2019, citing Pulmonary Fibrosis as well as kidney cancer for his departure.
Shores passed away Sunday.
"It's just such a huge loss for our community, for the radio world, for me personally, obviously for his children and for his family," Kara Steele said. "But he has definitely made his mark on our community. That's for sure."
The pair teamed up in 1994 and just two years later received recognition from the Country Music Association.
"He seemed to really appreciate the success he had," Shores' son Gary said. "He understood that (success) wasn't destined for him. It was the intersection of luck, skill and enthusiasm."
Shores was also K100's programming director for many years.
"Gary hired me in 1985. I was coming from a very small market in Iowa," Wendy Sheridan said.
Sheridan is now the producer of GOOD DAY on WTOL 11. She credits Shores with teaching her the ins and outs of the business. "He laid the foundation for good radio, good media business practices, how to treat people, how to find contacts, how to keep those contacts and really just how to be a good person overall," she said.
And all those things tie into what she'll remember about him most: he was a kind person day in and day out.
"What you heard on the radio was the exact same Gary you'd see out in public, at the grocery or with people who didn't work in radio at all," Sheridan said. "He was a beyond genuinely nice man."
Kara Steele echoed the sentiment: "The thing that I love most about Gary is that he was just so community-minded and was just a really good person."
She said that earning the trust of the "greatest listeners in the world" was a massive honor for the pair, who very well may be together again, back behind the mic.
"Gary and Harvey, as Kara Steele said, are doing morning radio in heaven now," Sheridan said.
RJ Curtis, the executive director of the Country Radio Broadcasters, provided this statement to WTOL 11 about Shores:
"Gary was one of those unique radio personalities and programmers who spent decades at the same station in the same market, and it's something we may not see as much moving forward. K100 was a leader in the Toledo market, but also on a national level, due to its consistent success, and, importantly, longtime stability at two critical positions in a radio station: The PD (Programming Director,) and morning personality.
"Gary did both at a high level, from the station launch and through many decades of incredible accomplishments. As a result, Gary and K100 had the respect and esteem of the entire Country music industry and yet I never detected any hint of ego or self-importance. On a personal note, when I spent a short time in record promotion with Arista Nashville, Gary was one of the PDs I called on and often visited. He was always kind, friendly, and accommodating. Whenever we went to lunch, it was obvious how universally well-loved he was in his community - no matter what restaurant we walked into, the staff all knew Gary and treated him like the mayor.
"I know he'll be missed by so many in the community he served; the greater country music community shares this loss and sends condolences to his family and friends."