WDET staff and listeners are mourning the loss of veteran Detroit radio personality and former WDET Program Director and host Judy Adams.
Friends and colleagues of Adams confirmed with WDET that Adams died Tuesday morning, after succumbing to an illness.
Judy Adams
Adams spent more than 30 years at WDET, serving for most of them as program director at the station. She also hosted a program on WDET called Morphogenesis and later, The Judy Adams Program.
In a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, former WDET General Manager Caryn G. Mathes — who worked alongside Adams at the station for more than two decades — called her a “brilliant radio on-air talent, programmer, marketer, composer and events designer” who had an extraordinary ability to develop new talent.
“Many people owe the careers they have today, to Judy,” she said.
WDET General Manager Mary Zatina called her “a force with an infectious smile,” adding that Adams played a pivotal role in bringing diverse and eclectic music to WDET’s airwaves.
Adams previously hosted “The Judy Adams Program,” formerly “Morphogenesis.”
A deep well of music knowledge across multiple genres, Adams’ career spanned more than 40 years in music programming, production and management, garnering more than 40 awards for program excellence, according to her LinkedIn page.
“Music knowledge in taste in WDET listeners was shaped and inspired by Judy’s early embrace of emerging musicians and world music,” said WDET Program Director Adam Fox. “Many of the current WDET hosts were inspired and hired by Judy.”
As program director, she raised the station to new heights in listenership and revenue. Most recently, she was a music blogger and a guest host on WRCJ-FM.
Adams is survived by her son, Anthony Minne. A formal obituary and funeral information has not been made public yet.
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