I first heard the voice of Mercer Islander Dave Ross in the fall of 1978. Unlike some of you, I didn’t hear that rich baritone voice on the radio. Rather, I heard it in the studio a few feet from where I was working.

Both Dave and I were hired in 1978 at KIRO radio at the intersection of 3rd and Broad in downtown Seattle. In addition to working at Broadcast House at the same time, the legendary Lloyd Cooney signed both our checks. While Dave distinguished himself as the afternoon news anchor on-air, I was a part-time switchboard operator in the lobby during the day and board operator in the control room in the evening.

In addition to answering calls and transferring callers to KIRO employees, it was my job to greet visitors and staff who passed by my console as they entered the building. I routinely welcomed the likes of Dave Ross, Bill Yeend, Harry Wappler, Wayne Cody and J.P. Patches. I also remember being the first face to greet Charlton Heston as he arrived for an interview.

My employment at Broadcast House was short-lived due to a pastoral call I received from a local church. But Dave Ross’ career in Seattle had only just begun. Two months ago, my neighbor and friend retired after forty-seven years at KIRO. His amazing run on our local airwaves has left him exceedingly grateful but not the least bit winded.

The other day Dave and I communed over a cup of coffee at the Southend “St. Arbucks.” I asked him about his remarkable career and learned some fascinating facts. He told me that his interest in radio actually began when he was just four years old. Using a microphone and a reel-to-reel tape recorder, he interviewed his dad. During his adolescence, Dave assembled a Heath Kit radio to broadcast music in the family home north of New York City. In high school, he worked at a local radio station spinning records as a disc jockey.

Dave went to Cornell University where he chose English as a major after initially pursuing a degree in physics. In addition to studying, the future award-winning news anchor found part-time employment at the local Top 40 radio station in Ithaca. But that was not the only place he used his sonorous voice. Loving to sing, Dave joined the Cornell Glee Club. It was in that context that he met his future wife Patricia whose mom was secretary to the concert master of the Glee Club.

Dave and Patricia married after graduation in 1973 and moved to Georgia where he began to carve out his niche as a news anchor and interviewer at WSB Radio. After four years in Atlanta, the Rosses were Seattle-bound. It was here in the Pacific Northwest they welcomed their two daughters and eventually bought a home on Mercer Island near the high school.

Dave’s popularity at KIRO resulted in the opportunity to glean a national radio audience. Initially providing vacation relief for Charles Osgood on the CBS radio network, Dave would be given his own network gig while continuing his program locally. His humor, creativity and clear-headed approach to the news drew loyal listeners.

In 2004, Dave attempted to take his voice to Washington, D.C., when he ran for Congress against Dave Reichert. It was during that campaign season, which ended with the former King County Sheriff edging out the broadcaster, that Dave realized his voice was more recognizable than his face.

“I was sitting in a waiting room about to go in for a medical procedure,” Dave told me. “While flipping through a magazine I heard the couple next to me talking about my run for office. They had no idea I was sitting right beside them.”

Kidding me that he has a face for radio, Dave told me there is a definite advantage in not being recognized in spite of being a household name. And now, after four decades as a Mercer islander, Dave’s household name is about to become associated with new neighborhood. In order to be closer to family and spend more time with grandchildren, Dave and Patricia will soon be leaving Mercer Island to Lynnwood.

As we concluded our visit at St. Arbucks, I thanked Dave for a brilliant career that has enlightened our community. And in his signature understated way, my friend smiled and (peering over his reading glasses perched low on the bridge of his nose) posed for a selfie with me.

Guest columnist Greg Asimakoupoulos is a former chaplain at Covenant Living at the Shores in Mercer Island.