In Memoriam
Philip Galasso Obituary
Philip Galasso, 70, died May 10th, 2024 at his home in Shickshinny,Pa. He was a long-time resident of Iselin, NJ, and prior to moving to Shickshinny, Eagleswood Twp., NJ.
Philip was a 1971 graduate of St. Joseph’s High School in Metuchen, NJ. He attended Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA and Seton Hall University in South Orange,NJ.
Philip was employed by Geos Communications in Tunkhannock PA as a radio producer. He previously was employed at WABC-TV in New York and NJ101.5.
Philip was involved in amateur radio for many years and belonged to many Ham radio clubs through the years. Most recently he belonged to the Murgas Radio Club in Pennsylvania. His call sign was K2PG.
Philip was a member of St. Mary’s church in Pennsylvania where he was a lector and server.
Philip was predeceased by his parents, Felix and Eleanor Galasso. He is survived by his sister Linda.
Hello. I’m Phil Galasso, Production Manager and sometimes engineer at Gem 100 & 104. When I was a kid, I used to tune around the AM and shortwave bands, listening for distant stations and sending reception reports to their engineers. A math teacher in high school steered me toward amateur (“ham”) radio and I was licensed as WN2HMH in 1968. I spent long hours talking to people all over the world, sometimes annoying my parents in the process. When I started college in 1971, I majored in biology/pre-med…I didn’t consider broadcasting at all. But I started doing shows on WMUH, the college station, and working part-time at WFMZ (now WLEV), a commercial station in Allentown, to earn some spare change. The radio bug bit… HARD! But the Lord didn’t give me the best voice, so I went behind the scenes and learned the engineering side of radio, working for various stations in New York, Pennsylvania, and my native New Jersey. In 1993, I did the licensing paperwork for WQNJ in Ocean Acres, NJ and put that station on the air. Eventually, I returned to Pennsylvania, living out in the boonies where I could have my amateur radio tower, a vegetable garden and some chickens… as well as some cats to keep the mice away from the chicken coop. My amateur radio station is still active as K2PG. No music there… that’s illegal… but, if you have a license, you can talk to me about anything under the sun.
I’m semi-retired now, letting the younger guys in the engineering field get all the panic phone calls at 3 AM. My job here at Gem 99 & 100 is to produce specialized programs that air on weekends, as well as commercials that make you want to check out our advertisers, their products, and services.
