Our Thoughts Are With Shelli Sonstein
• We join the rest of our industry in sending our love to Shelli Sonstein, Jim Kerr‘s longtime morning co-host on iHeartMedia Classic Rock WAXQ (Q104.3)/New York, who is dealing with every parent’s worst nightmare — the death of her 38-year-old daughter Dina on Monday.
In the face of this tragic event, Sonstein has asked for help in sharing this heartbreaking situation with her industry peers. To that end, she has chronicled Dina’s story in a lengthy and emotional Facebook post, which reads, in part, “My daughter had a smile that lit up a room. She had a wicked sense of humor. In her final years, she worked in the addiction community to help others. Dina was actually part of the iHeartRadio family. At 17, she shadowed Elvis Duran And The Morning Show, and then, while attending Ithaca College, Dina interned at Q104.3. She fell in love with radio.”
The post continues, “I last saw her in rehab in August, before I left for vacation with my rock, my John. She was smiling, happy, and surrounded with support at the Caron Treatment Center. I will always treasure those last hours together. At least I got to hug and kiss her and tell her how much I loved her AND how proud I was of her.”
In closing, Shelli said, “I am not sure when I will rejoin you all on-air. But I want to leave you with this message: ALWAYS tell your loved ones you love them and don’t put off seeing them. And for anyone who is struggling, there IS help.”
