Obituary
Brian Eckstein of Indiana Public Radio dies at 40
Brian Eckstein, production manager at Indiana Public Radio, based in Muncie, and a volunteer at the station since high school, died unexpectedly Nov. 21 [2011] at his home in the city. He was 40.
“Chances are, if you live around here, your life has been touched somehow, in some way, by Brian Eckstein,” wrote Muncie’s Star Press.
His absence leaves “an enormous space to fill at the radio station, and in our hearts,” Angie Rapp, marketing manager of WIPB and IPR, told the newspaper. Eckstein was recognized as an outstanding alumnus by the Disabled Student Development Office of Ball State University, licensee of the station.
Eckstein had long battled health problems: Two kidney transplants — cancer (twice), leg braces and near-blindness. “But he never complained,” the paper said. “He never played the sympathy card.”
He received a kidney in 2004 from friend Lee Ann Mengelt. “I felt blessed being able to share something I had with a man who truly touched absolutely every person that he met,” she said. “One thing Brian always carried with him was his dignity and compassion. I’ll now carry that with me, forever.”
His funeral Mass was held Nov. 25 at St. Francis of Assisi in Muncie.
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