Woodrow Assaf (March 15, 1917 − November 13, 2009)"Woodrow Assaf obituary"
Dignity Memorial was an American weatherman who worked for many years in

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

. He worked at

WLBT WLBT (channel 3) is a television station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television, which also operates American Spirit Media–owned Fox affiliate WDBD (channel 40) and Vicksburg-licensed MyNet ...

, the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

television network affiliate in Jackson, from 1953 to 2001, and after his retirement he was reported to be the weatherman with the second longest tenure at the same station in U.S. broadcasting history. Only Dick Goddard surpassed Assaf at 55 years, with the last 50 at WJW in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Early years

Woodie Assaf was born to Lebanese immigrants Ellis and Esma Assaf in McComb, Mississippi on March 15, 1917. He graduated from

McComb High School McComb High School is a public school in McComb, Mississippi, United States, serving 740 students in grades 912, as of 2017. Athletics McComb High School offers multiple sports, including baseball, football, and basketball. Notable alumni * Woo ...

, and then attended Southwest Mississippi Junior College and

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

. He served as an Army training officer during World War II. He first worked in radio in WSKB in McComb in 1937. After this he worked for radio stations in Vicksburg and Jackson.

Tenure at WLBT

Assaf started working for WLBT television in Jackson in 1953, on the first day it went on the air (December 20, 1953). In the beginning he did a variety of jobs at the station, including recording commercials, selling advertising, and reporting news, sports and weather. Eventually he became the “weather man,” giving weather reports on the station. (He was not a meteorologist and did not claim to be. He qualified all his weather reports with the line "The weatherman says...") He became a well-known and iconic figure in Mississippi throughout his time at WLBT, also due to his efforts in fundraising and community activities. He annually hosted the Easter Seals Telethon. In 1969 he hosted a benefit starring

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...

that raised over $2.5 million for victims of Hurricane Camille. He emceed numerous beauty pageants and special events throughout the state. In 1996 he carried the Olympic torch, representing WLBT-TV. In 1999, a '' Clarion-Ledger'' readers' poll voted him Mississippi's most popular TV personality of the millennium.House Resolution 67

Mississippi Legislature The Mississippi Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The bicameral Legislature is composed of the lower Mississippi House of Representatives, with 122 members, and the upper Mississippi State Senate, with 52 me ...

, 2007 Regular Session.

Personal life and death

He was married to Ruby Assaf (née Nickey) from 1943 until her death in 2009. They were married for 65 years. They had two daughters. Woodie Assaf died of natural causes at Riggs Manor Retirement Center in

Raymond, Mississippi Raymond is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 1,933; in 2020, its population was 1,960. Raymond is one of two county seats of Hinds County (along with Jackson) and is the home of the ...

, on November 13, 2009.

References

External links

Woodie Assaf Collection at Ole Miss

Woodrow "Woodie" Assaf Papers
Special Collections at The University of Southern Mississippi {{DEFAULTSORT:Assaf, Woody American television personalities Weather presenters People from McComb, Mississippi People from Jackson, Mississippi Southwest Mississippi Community College alumni Louisiana State University alumni 1917 births 2009 deaths American people of Lebanese descent