Show: Down the Rabbit Hole
My name is Bob Critchfield and I was married to Lisa Willey, who was a dj at WMPG prior to the Covid lockdown. I was made aware that the folks at the station hadn’t known of Lisa’s passing until just recently.
I know that she would have liked to have returned to the station once things settled out with the pandemic, but sadly she was unable to. In May of 2021, as it looked like she would be able to return to WMPG and was scheduling time for it, she became unwell and couldn’t even work. Tragically she had been misdiagnosed until September of that year and was hospitalized for two months while she began treatment for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and had made a full recovery.
Cruelly, the lymphoma had returned after a six month reprieve; it had spread to her brain and another war began.
She made some progress, but ultimately the cancer was stronger and she died on September 20, 2022.
I know that her time as a dj was a period of joy. She loved to discover new music and share this experience with others. Her biggest inspiration was helping to get small, new bands an audience over the airwaves and had only begun promoting shows at great spaces, such as The Apohadion Theatre before the pandemic. She was a big supporter and fan of local Maine bands such as Bait Bag, Beach Trash, When Particles Collide, and The Bumbling Woohas, to name a few. Lisa played their music and so much more on her quirky show at the most awkward time of 4:30 am. on Friday mornings. Her show, “Down the Rabbit Hole” truly captured the essence of Lisa’s eclectic musical tastes. You tuned in and never knew the direction you were headed. She had been offered opportunities for better time slots, but passed on them—-she was committed to her audience of bakers, commuters, taxi drivers and other early birds.
I want to thank WMPG for being a space of opportunity for the community and giving us needed information as well as entertainment.
Lisa believed in the independent media community and loved being a part of it.
Thanks for being there.
Bob Critchfield