Hyle Vance Richmond

Hyle Vance Richmond, a longtime radio and television news broadcaster in Erie, Pa., died on June 3, 2017, in Omaha, Neb., after a brief illness. He was 90.

Richmond was born on October 2, 1926, in Buffalo, N.Y., the son of Captain Vance Lawton Richmond and Florence Margaret (Oberist) Richmond.

He married Caliope Cottis of Buffalo in 1955, and they had four children, all of whom survive. His wife preceded him in death in 2013.

After graduating from Bennett High School in Buffalo in 1944, Richmond enlisted in the U.S. Army. Because he was only 17, he studied engineering in a six-month Army Specialized Training Reserve Program at New York University in New York City. In 1945, following basic training, he was assigned to Ford Dix, N.J. and his unit was on a boat to the island of Saipan when Japan surrendered in World War II. He remained on Saipan for a year, working in warehouses and supervising Japanese prisoners of war.

Following his discharge in 1947, Richmond attended Triple Cities College, now SUNY Binghamton, before completing his Bachelor's degree at Syracuse University in 1950. He majored in history with a minor in radio and television.

Richmond began work in broadcasting during summers in college, filling in at WWOL radio in Buffalo as an engineer, announcer and disc jockey. After graduation, he worked as a news announcer and disc jockey at WUSJ in Lockport, N.Y., before accepting an offer to join WXRA in Buffalo. There, he met his future wife, Caliope, a copywriter for the station.

In 1957, Richmond was hired at WICU-TV in Erie after WXRA switched to a rock 'n' roll format. He began at WICU as an announcer on both radio and television, but moved full-time into television news as the medium grew in importance. In the early years, the news lasted only 15 minutes long, and Richmond shot and developed all his own film.

WICU was Erie's top-rated station throughout Richmond's career. He was a popular news anchor who reported in person on local government, crime, courts, business and more. Among his interview subjects were Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller and Mario Cuomo.

Upon retiring, he and Caliope traveled, visited children and grandchildren and spent extensive time in Florida before purchasing a home in Green Valley, Arizona. In 2014, he moved to Omaha after his wife's death to live closer to family. Richmond especially enjoyed playing tennis, a sport he played in high school and college. His first love, though, was football and he was a lifelong fan of the Buffalo Bills.

A dedicated professional, Richmond was also a loyal and loving son, husband, father and friend. He was an avid listener who never lost his curiosity and interest in others, something that helped make him a successful broadcast journalist. Known by many as Daddio, he was an affable man, always ready with a smile, handshake, and compliment.

He is survived by a son, Vance (Kimberly) Richmond of Virginia Beach, Va.; three daughters, Holly (Patrick) Richmond of Omaha, Neb., Kimberly (Michael) Milano of Geneva, Ill., and Lee (Scott) Richmond of Bemidji, Minn.; six grandchildren, Vance, Eleni and Taylor Richmond, Nicholas and Anthony Milano, and Theodore and Calvin Faust; and one great-grandchild, Olivia Richmond.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to The Planetary Society at https://secure.planetary.org/site/SPageNavigator/supportprojects.html.

A family memorial service is pending later this summer, followed by interment in Erie.

Sign the Guestbook at www.GoErie.com/obits.