MACON, Ga. — 13WMAZ is mourning the loss of one of its long-time employees and family members Wednesday.
Delores 'Del' Ward Napier Leslie has died at the age of 94 after a brief, unspecified illness.
Ward was born in Macon in 1926, and a chance meeting with a radio station owner in her college years changed her career path forever.
She was a disc jockey at Macon’s WNEX before moving to other places in the United States, and she became the first female disc jockey in the U.S. to play all night at WGN in Chicago.
By the time she moved back home, there was a new medium on the rise – television.
WMAZ first signed on to the air in 1953, and Ward started at the station just four years later. She never looked back.
Here, she produced an interview segment, ‘Date With Del,’ that featured the movers and shakers of Central Georgia. She stayed with 13WMAZ for four decades until retiring from full-time work in 1997.
Despite not being at the station full-time, Ward still worked closely with staff to produce and host a monthly segment, 'Personal Profiles,' that showcased interesting people in the Central Georgia region.
In 2008, Ward was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.
There will be a visitation to celebrate her life on Friday, July 30 from 5-7 p.m. in the Great Hall of Christ Church at 582 Walnut Street.
Funeral Services will be held at 9 a.m. on Saturday, July 31 at St Paul’s Episcopal Church on College Street. Burial will be private in Rose Hill Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations are suggested to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
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