Jacob Russell "Rick" Webb

Jacob Russell "Rick" Webb died on May 1, 2014 in Hammond, Louisiana. Born in Ponchatoula, Louisiana on January 19, 1922 he was 92 years of age. He was the son of Burton Scarborough and Julia Mixon Webb of Watson, Louisiana. While leaving home at age 16 to join the Civil Conservation Corps working in Oregon and Washington, he set his life course in radio broadcasting by studying at Gallops Island, Boston, Massachusetts for the Merchant Marines to earn his Radio Telegraph license. He gained wartime Veterans Status as a shipboard radio operator on Sun Oil Company tanker ships in the western Atlantic and the Southern Pacific Oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. It was on one of his trips home that he met and soon married a young New Jersey woman, Barbara "Buzzy" Deak. After the war, he flew with Pan American Airlines in the Caribbean and Central and South America as radio operator. His broadcast career of 40 years began first at WIHL in Hammond and then the newer radio station WARB in Covington where he was a fixture until the middle 1980's. After retirement, he and Buzzy made a new career selling homemade jams and jellies featuring Mayhaws, growing most of the fruits on his farm and selling at the Covington Farmers' Market. Throughout his life he enjoyed farming, raising cattle and horses, Ham radio, travelling, hunting and fishing. He is survived by his children Barbara W. Dantone (Danny), Russell A. Webb (Priscilla), and J. Rick Webb (Susan); 8 grandchildren, Mitchell, Curtis, Michael, Carolyn, Sarah, Russell, Matthew and Anna; 14 great-grandchildren and 6 great- great- grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Barbara "Buzzy" Webb; daughters Ann Marie Webb and Sandra W. Goodwin; sisters L. Lianne W. Wilson, Lillian W. Crane, Vivian W. Hollis, Sallie W. Johnson and Julia W. Barnes; and brothers Thomas C. Webb and James S. Webb. Visitation will be held Sunday, May 4 from 12 to 2 at the Lee's Landing United Methodist Church, 38346 Lee's Landing Road, Ponchatoula, with a funeral service following. Burial will be at the Ponchatoula Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Southeastern Louisiana University Development Foundation at SLU Box 10703, Hammond, LA 70402 in support of KSLU Radio or the Sandy Goodwin Athletic Scholarship. A guest book is available at www.harrymckneely.com.