George Wehby

WEHBY GEORGE WEHBY Of Miami, Florida passed away on Good Friday, April 22, 2011 at the age of 93. Born on March 24, 1918 in Kingston, Jamaica, he joined his family in Havana, Cuba at the age of 10. He began his distinguished career as a radio sports broadcaster, covering horse racing and boxing events. He then turned to print journalism, advancing to Sports Director for the Havana Post in 1945 and then to Editor-in-Chief of the Havana Post in 1956. He also led a successful public relations career, representing, among others, the Ringling Brothers Circus, the Harlem Globetrotters, and Sonja Henie's Holiday on Ice Spectacular. George was also a correspondent for Time Magazine, Life, the Chicago Tribune, Agence France-Presse and was on staff for the Associated Press. After the Havana Post was shut down by the Castro regime in the summer of 1960, he went to work for the US Embassy in Havana until leaving Cuba with his family in February 1961. Upon arriving in Miami, he was hired by the United States Information Agency, an agency originally formed to report on Cuban affairs but later expanded to cover regional and international affairs. From his Miami base he also aided the Latin American branch of the Voice of America, recording interviews, roundtable discussions and other items of interest for the daily Spanish language programming of VOA. He culminated his career as Deputy Director of VOA Miami. He was recognized for his excellent performance by receiving the coveted VOA Outstanding Employee of the Year Award "for providing first-rate coverage of major events during the year 1987." He received numerous other recognitions throughout his career, until he retired at the age of 80 in 1998. Throughout his professional career he traveled the world, interviewing heads of state, prominent international political figures, sports celebrities and Pope John Paul II. His focus on politics led him to cover many significant political events throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean. His journalistic career fed his many interests, from politics to medicine to science, and one of his proudest achievements was his continuous coverage of the space program beginning with the Gemini launches through the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. George Wehby was a loving and devoted family man. He married Edna Vazquez in 1954, with whom he raised his many children and grandchildren. He is survived by his wife Edna, his sons Jorge A. Wehby, Carlos G. Wehby, Richard George Wehby, William R. Wehby, his daughters Tania Reyes and Edna Wehby Lopez, 16 grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren. He was an exemplary husband, father and journalist, and he will be greatly missed. His signature closing line as a broadcaster was, and aptly remains as a fond farewell to us all: "Desde Miami, Jorge Wehby." Services have been held. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to the American Red Cross or Miami Rescue Mission.