Dusty Rhodes, longtime voice of the Valley, passes away

Dusty Rhodes, a longtime radio personality whose voice was known throughout the Shenandoah Valley, has died at the age of 74.

Dusty Rhodes, who worked in local radio since 1966, retired from WSIG 96.9 in January of this year.

Paul McDaniel, also known as Uncle Pauly, the program director for WSIG, told WHSV Rhodes left because of health reasons, but he wanted everyone to be happy about his retirement.

For a day in January, to honor Rhodes' retirement, WSIG rebranded their station in his name and became Dusty 96.9.

Now, on May 21, the station announced that Rhodes passed away peacefully at his Elkton home on Wednesday.

His WSIG family says he is loved and will be missed, as well as by all at the Harrisonburg Radio Group.

To honor his memory, they're asking people around the valley to leave a message on the "Dusty Rhodes Love Line" at (540) 437-4862 sharing a favorite memory of him.

"Anything that's on your mind or in your heart—we'd love to hear from his friends and fans from every corner of the Valley," they said in a statement.

At 6:10 a.m. on May 22, WSIG will be running a special segment to memorialize Dusty Rhodes.