I last spoke with Sheila on Thursday October 17th (2013) and she was concerned about her work and how it was being received by one of her co-workers. She let me hear a morning newscast and I said Sheila you sound fine. She said I thought so BJ".
Sheila was a very proud woman. She always wanted to be the best! She was an outstanding organizer. She knew how to bring people together in a matter of hours. She trained people like no body's business. All of her interns grew under her leadership. I discovered Sheila's talent when she was working in Raleigh at K-97.5fm and I was starting my morning show in Charlotte on Power 98. Sheila joined us in the latter part of 1995 as news director at WPEG POWER 98. She was born to do what she did.
I always have to state that Sheila was a misunderstood woman, because people did not know how to admire brilliance in another human being. Some thought she was eccentric, I thought she was tenacious in making things happen. Wow I miss you Sheila! I always wanted to have some of the Umph! that she had in abundance.
I can't believe she is not here. She was a friend. She use to loan me money when I was out of a job and I loaned her money when she was out.
We confided in each other about stuff and I was so proud of her! She is a major talent, and she filled a void in Washington DC because she wanted to do that. She loved to help people.
One thing that I know about Sheila is that she did not reach her full blown potential as a broadcaster. She was in the warm up stages in my opinion. Sheila is Big Time Media to me, but things happen to distract us and pull us off the path sometimes. She is suppose to still be here with us. I am hurt because she did not want things the way they currently were working out for her, and she was trying to fix things. She has remarkable resilience as a human being. I am going to take pages from her life and apply them to mine.
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| National radio figure on the air, died Thursday after a car crash in Atlanta. She was 44. |
Sheila, Sheila, Sheila, oh how I wish you were still here. I know that God is pleased with her efforts to help the community in the way that she did. Sheila Stewart was action oriented and she did not shrink from a challenge.
I am taking so many things away from the tragic loss of my sister and I am reflecting on how we should admire people for the gifts that God gave them and not be afraid of the brightness of the stars around us. Sheila gave you permission to let your light shine because she did indeed shine.
She wanted a family and she was proud of that fact. She was a lover and not a hater.
I just wish she was still with us. I miss you Sheila.... Dam!
From every loss of life there is a story to tell. Death hurts, and is hard to take especially when those who try to do right leave us in a tragic way. Every moment that we are alive together is a sacred moment. We know not the time the giver of life will call the life that he gave back to him. No soul dies without his permission. So to Almighty God be the glory for those of us who really loved her for who she was.
I can hear Sheila saying to me.."Look yall we got to work together, I don't have time for all this pettiness BJ"..I said..."I know Sheila, I know" "What did I do wrong BJ?.."Nothing Sheila"!
Wow this is crazy that she is gone!
I just wanted to tell you how we were as friends and I will always carry her energy with me. I pray that God will infuse in me and all of us her passion for the community to make a difference in our suffering people all over America. Let your light shine like Sheila. May God be pleased with her.
Your brother BJ Murphy
4 comments:
Although she was industry, I'm sorry that you lost a dear friend, not just a trusted colleague. Both, in my humble opinion, are hard to come by. Too many talents are not appreciated until they're conveniently out of our presence. It's good to know you recognized & appreciated her while she was here. You obviously blessed each other's lives. I hope you are able to find comfort in the days, weeks, & months to come.
BJ I feel your pain even tho I didn't know her as you did. I feel the emotion in your words. Indeed we have loss another great one. May God be pleased with her and may we all learn from her example. Peace.
BJ I feel your pain even tho I didn't know her as you did. I feel the emotion in your words. Indeed we have loss another great one. May God be pleased with her and may we all learn from her example. Peace.
I knew Sheila extremely well. I look at my last series of text messages from her. Most of us whom really knew her were aware of some personal family issues. Apparently, things were going wrong again on her job too. I didn't know this until recently but there was always a pattern --such is the case in radio. She wanted me to visit her but I could not at the time. I told her to be strong and her last comment was " give me sometime." Typical of our relationship, she would stop being in touch with me and I would spend years looking for her and would always find her. I had this feeling something melancholy and dark was hovering over her this time.I really did. Sheila seemed to always find me when she was unhappy but we never could be as close as we should have because of our personal lives. I keep saying this is just a bad dream and I will wake up and Sheila with that wonderful smile will be there. But, not anymore. During the last 13 years I have lost my mother, my wife and now Sheila.
Mike Downs
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