RIP: Dick Sainte (1938-2005)

What a miserable year this has been for great radio people. Barry Salberg has sent along word that former 610/KFRC jock Dick Sainte died this past Saturday (Dec. 10) at the Oregon Veterans Home in The Dalles, Ore. He was 67 years old.

He also worked at KSFO and KNEW during stops in the Bay Area, but was best known for his work at Top 40 music stations.

Born Richard Arnold Middleton in Kansas City, Mo., he was raised in Fresno, Calif., and McMinnville, Ore. After graduating from McMinnville High, he enlisted in the Air Force, where he also played trombone in the USAF marching band. He enrolled at the University of Oregon to study broadcasting and music after his discharge in 1959, and interned at KFLY and KLOO in Corvallis, Ore., while an underclassman.

Upon embarking on his professional radio career, Middleton took on the air name Dick Saint, which he later amended to Dick Sainte. Saint(e), according to Barry Salberg, once related that the extra "e" came at the suggestion of Dionne Warwick, who had done the same in the 1970s.

In addition to his work in the Bay Area, he also worked at KISN, KEX, and KWJJ in Portland, Ore., KGB in San Diego, KRLA and KHJ in Los Angeles, and WLS and WCFL in Chicago.

Possessed of an encyclopedic mind on the subject of music history, Mr. Sainte toured as a trombonist for a short time with the Les Brown big band, and also formed his own brass band. Before his retirement in 1995, he taught at the University of Oregon and Portland Community College, where he served as faculty director of the PCC campus radio station.

Mr. Sainte had resided in the Oregon Veterans Home since 2004 due to his lengthy battle with diabetes. He is survived by six children, nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.