Raymond Witcoff

On January 2, 2018, we lost the last surviving founder of KETC/Channel 9, a true pioneer of public television and a long-time leader in the St. Louis community. Raymond Wittcoff passed early this morning at his home in Phoenix at the side of his wife Roma, his son Mark and his daughter Caroline. Ray was 96 years old. Ray Wittcoff was known to many in the St. Louis region for his civic leadership through the founding of Channel 9, his long-time board leadership at Jewish Hospital and the eventual merger of Barnes, Jewish and Children’s Hospital. He also developed some of the early iconic buildings in downtown St. Louis. In 1954 Ray led a group of St. Louisans making application to the FCC for an educational television license through the St. Louis Educational Television Commission (ETC). He was an emeritus trustee of Washington University in St. Louis and a member of the School of Medicine’s National Council since 2005. In 2008, the Wittcoffs made a commitment making possible the Roma B. and Raymond H. Wittcoff Distinguished University Professorship in Environment and Energy at Washington University A St. Louis native, Wittcoff earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago in 1942, then served as a Navy lieutenant in World War II. After the war, he became president of Transurban Corp., which built, owned and managed office buildings. In addition to his wife, Wittcoff is survived by his son, Mark; daughter, Caroline; five stepchildren, Joel, Richard, Melanie, Marna and Debbie Broida; four grandchildren; seven stepgrandchildren; and one stepgreat-grandson.