R. Edward Lopez

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R. Edward "Bob" Lopez (1953–May 22, 2005) was a newsman and morning radio personality on Baltimore's 98Rock. Joining the station in 1978, Lopez participated in 13 morning radio shows during his 27 years at the station.^[1] He was known for his humor, thoughtful opinions, and dogged liberalism.^[1]

In the early 1990s, he co-hosted with Bob Rivers.^[2] He was most recently part of the "Kirk, Mark & Lopez" or "KML" morning show, along with Kirk McEwen and Mark Ondayko, with whom he worked for seven years. He also hosted the Sunday Lopez, a Sunday morning talk show where Lopez discussed politics and listeners called in to express their views. Lopez held the national record for longest tenure for a news man at a rock station.

Lopez grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland, and attended the University of Maryland, College Park, getting his first on-air experience at the campus radio station, WMUC-FM. He later worked at WLMD, a small AM station in Laurel, Maryland, earning $2.25 an hour, before moving to Baltimore in 1977 and joining 98Rock in 1978.^[3]

Lopez was diagnosed with lung cancer in February 2004, having been a smoker for several decades, starting at age 12.^[4] He continued to participate in the Kirk, Mark & Lopez radio show while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation therapy. During his treatment, Lopez and his co-hosts made his cancer a frequent source of humor on air, remarking that his hair loss made him look like Uncle Fester.^[3] After a long and public battle with the disease, Lopez died at the age of 52. He was survived by his wife of 21 years and his 13-year-old daughter, Leandra.^[1]