James Martin Gannon

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University of Notre Dame

James Gannon Obituary

James Martin Gannon

James Martin Gannon, 86, passed away on April 1, 2017.

Jim Gannon, of Elmhurst, was a longtime Chicago radio newscaster and national sportscaster covering major sporting events all over the world. Jim grew up in Dixon, Illinois where at a young age he dreamed of going to Notre Dame University and becoming a play by play sports announcer. He earned a scholarship to Notre Dame and became the student assistant to legendary football coach Frank Leahy. Jim worked for the campus radio station and was the on-the-field announcer for Notre Dame's major athletic events.

After graduating from college and service in the Army, Jim became known as the "dean of morning radio newscasters" in Chicago. He was top disc jockey Howard Miller's newsman for 16 years on WIND Radio, from 1961 to 1977. During that tenure he also announced Northwestern Wildcats football games and did NBA and college basketball play-by-play. Gannon then moved up to national sportscasting for Mutual Radio Network in Washington, D.C. He covered Super Bowls, World Series, College Bowl games, major golf tournaments such as the Masters and British Open, along with the Olympic Games.

Following his retirement, Jim put his great voice to work recording books for The Chicago Lighthouse, a world renowned organization for people who are blind or visually impaired. He was also an avid video editor who enjoyed tracking his grandchildren's activities and turning them into beautifully-produced movies.

Jim is the beloved father of Mary (Dick) Pittman, Shelly (Brian) O'Neill and Marty (Katie); loving gramps of Molly, Callie, Kenzie, Nick, Tucker, Donnie and Reed.

Private services have been held.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Suburban Life Publications on Apr. 14, 2017.

Memories and Condolences
for James Gannon

6 Entries

Glenna Murphy Wickline

February 21, 2018

I remember Jim from grade school. All the girls had crushes on him. I had lost track of him because I moved to upstate NY in 1957. I did manage to get to a couple High school class reunions, but I don't think he was there. We moved to TX 2 years ago, so I am really out of touch now.
My condolences to his family.

April 28, 2017

Carol and I are both shocked and saddened to learn of Jim's passing. I'm surprised we didn't learn of this from Lee, as we became such close friends for a number of years. They visited us here in Texas a number of times, and we visited them in Fort Lauderdale and later Pompano Beach on a number of occasions as well. We also sailed with them on several cruises, notably the Caribbean and the Baltic Sea. Jim always had his video camera in hand, and delivered spirited and knowledgable narrations to go with the scenes. We have gotten out of touch with them in recent years, but did visit them once after they moved to Elmhurst to be closer to grandchildren. This is indeed very sad, sad news. Lee, if you are reading this, please accept our heartfelt condolences. --- Sincerely, Dave and Carol Adams

April 28, 2017

Carol and I are shocked and saddened to learn of Jim's passing. Our friendship carried beyond the work environment, with mutual visits between us. Jim and Lee came to visit us in Texas a number of times, and we were guests in their condos in both Fort Lauderdale and later in Pompano Beach. We also sailed together on several cruises, notably the Caribbean and the Baltic Sea, and always looked forward to accompanying them on these outings. Jim always had his video camera at the ready, and delivered spirited narrations to go with the videos. Lee, if you are reading this, please accept our heartfelt condolences. We are so sorry to learn this terribly sad news. --- Love and warmest regards, Dave and Carol Adams

Jerry Tobias

April 21, 2017

Condolences to Jim's family. I had the honor of working with Jim when I trained for SMN in Mokena, IL in 1990, and then when he moved to Dallas. Jim was one of the few remaining old school reporters with a distintive career that went back to the great Mutual Network. He assembled a top notch news team in Dallas. Many times I would go down to the 5th floor, where the news department was located (the music studios were on the 6th floor) just to hang out with the news department. Jim knew the importance of encouraging professional work among his staff. We mourn Jim's loss, not only personally, but professionally.

Steve Cumming

April 20, 2017

I'm so very sad to hear of Jim's death. I was his last full-time hire when he was putting together the Dallas news crew (Satellite News Network) of Satellite Music Network. He was/is a first class human being with a big heart.
If my memory serves correctly, it was after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and we had been putting in a lot of extra effort to get status reports out for our affiliates... over a thousand stations. Not too much later, he gave us envelopes with a nice gratuity. He went to bat for us when most bosses wouldn't have even thought of it.
Then, there was the day he retired. We were eating slices of his retirement cake when the Branch Davidian story broke in Waco. The news staff hot-footed it out of the room to assume battle stations. I heard Jim remark that his timing was perfect.
Everyone has a list of people who were key to advancement in our careers. Jim will always be on my list. In my heart too. Godspeed, Jim!

April 20, 2017

My condolences to Jim's family. I got to know Jim when we did news at Satellite, and I found him to be the consummate pro with incredible intellect and tremendous wit! We'll all miss Jim. Gina Tedesco

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