St. Louis Public Radio is reporting that its founder and longtime University of Missouri-St. Louis administrator Donald Driemeier was 80. Driemeier identified the need for a public radio station for the region in 1971. St. Louis Public Radio signed on about a year later under its call letters KWMU.
“We are indebted to Don Driemeier for having the vision that UMSL should have a radio station,” longtime St. Louis Public Radio employee Mary Edwards said. “I also remember what a kind person Don was, always having a good word and a twinkle in his eye.”
Driemeier started at UMSL in 1965. He retired in 2004. He died Saturday but a cause of death has not been announced.
He was a father of three and had six grandchildren. Driemeier and his wife Joyce were married for nearly 60 years.
A celebration of life for Donald Dreimeier is set for Tuesday at 1 p.m. at Samuel UCC Church in Clayton. UMSL said memorials can be made to the College of Business Administration, Samuel UCC, or Eden Seminary.
