MILTON, Pa. — The first thing many people think of when they hear the name John Yingling is his voice.
"He was one of those voices you did not have to see the face, if you heard the voice," Tea Jay Aikey said.
Yingling, of Lewisburg, was involved in radio for nearly five decades.
He passed away Tuesday at the age of 87.
"John was the best boss, most fair, and the quickest to solve his problems if he had any, of anybody I've ever seen," Than Mitchell said.
Mitchell worked with Yingling for about ten years at WMLP, a radio station that Yingling co-owned; the two co-hosted a show together.
"Boy, we just blended in that field. With John's partner Don Steese, I think the three of us had more laughs than anyone should at work," Mitchell said.
Yingling was also a longtime member of Milton's borough council and even served as president for more than a dozen years.
"If you ask anyone at all who has any affiliation with Milton and you mention that name, they definitely know him," Tea Jay Aikey said.
Aikey is president and CEO of the Central PA Chamber of Commerce.
She said Yingling was one of the chamber's longest-serving members, even after he retired.
Yingling was also one of the founders of the Milton Harvest Festival, an annual event each fall.
"You feel a connection to him whether you have actually met him in person or not, but you just have that connection. They don't make people like that every day. So it's just a big loss for the community at large," Aikey said.
"Those are the people you remember, even though it was later in my life, who shape my life and you watch shape others," Mitchell added.
Services will be Tuesday at Shaw Funeral Home in Milton.
Yingling will be buried with military honors; he was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.