WSYR news radio host Joe Galuski dies

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Joe Galuski, who worked for WSYR news radio for more than 25 years, has died, the radio station announced on the air this morning.

Galuski had served as the host of “Central New York’s Morning News” for several years. The program includes local news, traffic, weather, sports, and newsmaker interviews.

He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma last September, according to a profile on the fundraising website gofundme.com, seeking to raise funds to help pay the family’s medical bills.

Joe Galuski had “conquered” the disease 22 years earlier, the profile noted. But since the cancer returned, he underwent seven rounds of chemotherapy and other extensive treatment.     

Galuski has been off the air since last September. Both George Kilpatrick and Mark Wainwright have been serving as substitute hosts.

The long-time radio host learned “a few weeks ago” that his cancer is “untreatable by conventional methods,” the gofundme profile said. The profile was signed by his children Carrie (Galuski) Masto, Jess Galuski, and Dave Galuski.

Galuski lived his remaining days at Francis House in Syracuse, the family said.

WSYR radio, led by Kilpatrick, devoted Thursday morning’s airtime paying tribute to Galuski. The tribute included phone calls from listeners, former colleagues, and local officials, such as Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, who shared memories of Galuski.

After graduating from Christian Brothers Academy in DeWitt, Galuski later earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to Galuski’s profile on wsyr.com, the website of WSYR radio.

Galuski later had radio-announcing jobs in both Baltimore and Buffalo before returning to Syracuse in 1987, the WSYR profile says.

Besides his duties as morning-show host, Galuski occasionally served as host of pre-game shows for Syracuse University football and men’s basketball games.

The gofundme.com fundraising campaign had accumulated $5,577 in donations, from 73 people, as of 3 p.m. this afternoon. The campaign was started on Sunday by Masto and was seeking to raise $3,000.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com