Milestones: W1YL, K7XC, G4TUT Silent Keys

Several well-known amateurs have become Silent Keys in the past month. Among them…

Ellen White, W1YL
(CQ archive photo)

… CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame member Ellen White, W1YL, passed away in early November at age 95. Known as the “grand dame of DXing,” White spent many years working on the ARRL staff, where she rose to the position of Deputy Communications Manager and served as QST magazine’s DX Editor. According to longtime friend Chip Margelli, K7JA, White “learned Morse Code in high school in the 1940s as a ‘war course’ in service to her country, and (with the encouragement of her husband Bob, with whom she eloped in 1945), she went on to become a professional radio engineer, in a field utterly dominated by men.” White was also a major figure in contesting, instrumental in the founding of Murphy’s Marauders (the predecessor of today’s Yankee Clipper Contest Club) and the Florida Contest Group.

… Former CQ VHF Contributing Editor Tim Marek, K7XC, became a Silent Key in late October. Tim was an avid VHFer and particularly enjoyed contesting as a rover. According to his brother, Scott, Tim was recovering from a moderate stroke last year that took him off the air when he suffered a second, major stroke in October, succumbing to cardiac and respiratory complications. He was 63.

… Richard Brunton, G4TUT, longtime editor of Southgate Amateur Radio News in the UK, passed away in late October at age 77, as the result of a fall. According to Newsline, Brunton not only compiled the daily news reports for Southgate, but also “encouraged non-commercial podcasts and blogs to promote ham radio opinion and stimulate debate on the essential subjects of the day. He also compiled the ‘CQ Serenade’ weekly program which was broadcast throughout Europe on <Shortwaveradio.de>” and other media outlets.