Radio listeners across Chicago and beyond will pay tribute Monday to Lin Brehmer, the legendary radio personality who passed away over the weekend at the age of 68 after a long battle with prostate cancer.
Beginning at 10 a.m., Brehmer's home station, Chicago's WXRT, will host a celebration-of-life program honoring the longtime disc jockey, a fixture on radio airwaves and in the community.
"His XRT family will celebrate the incredible life of our best friend in the whole world," WXRT's Terri Hemmert wrote Sunday on the station's Facebook page. "We'll hold each other up through this heart-breaking time. Lin would want that. Take nothing for granted."
The 10 a.m. timeslot is significant because it was Brehmer's usual first radio slot of the week.
Brehmer took a leave of absence from work in July 2022 to fight against cancer and returned to the airwaves in November but had been absent in recent days.
"It is with a heavy heart that we must inform you that we all lost our best friend," Hemmert wrote Sunday, announcing Brehmer's passing. "Lin Brehmer fought cancer as long as he could. He passed early this morning, peacefully, with his wife and son by his side."
Brehmer had hosted shows on WXRT since 1991 and was a fan favorite for his upbeat personality, Cubs fandom and for answering listener questions with thoughtful essays in his “Lin’s Bin” segment.
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His infectious enthusiasm was signified by his catchphrase “it’s great to be alive.”
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