Jaime McKibbin Passes Away Suddenly

(L-R) Jamie and Katina McKibbin, Sue and Bruce Goldsen

Updated 11/20/20

Scholarship Fund Set Up in Honor of Jamie McKibbin – read more here.

Updated 11/19/20

Jamie McKibbin, co-owner and operator of McKibbin Media Group, Inc., licensee of WKHM-AM/FM and WIBM-AM (Jackson) and WCSR-AM/FM (Hillsdale), passed away suddenly November 16, 2020 as a result of a boating accident. McKibbin and a close friend were on a hunting trip at Clendening Lake in Ohio and were reported missing late Sunday night. They were found not far from the Clendening Lake Marina at around 2:00 p.m. Monday afternoon. Their boat was not found. Weather may have been a factor in the accident.

McKibbin was a native of Hillsdale County and longtime resident of Parma, Michigan.

Station Owner Jamie McKibbin

In 2019, Jamie and his wife Katina, purchased WKHM-AM/FM and WIBM-AM from Bruce and Sue Goldsen.  In early 2020, the couple expanded their media holdings with the purchase of WCSR-AM/FM in Hillsdale. McKibbin has been involved with the MAB for years and most recently had joined its Board of Directors.

“This is such a loss for both Jackson and Hillsdale and it’s going to be a tough one to recover, but you know people will get through it and they will,” said former Jackson Radio Works President Bruce Goldsen.

McKibbin began working for Bruce and Sue Goldsen at the age of 18, spending 23 years at the Jackson stations before purchasing them.

Katina, Walker and Jamie McKibbin

“His lifelong dream was to be an owner in the media business,” Sue Goldsen said. “We were ready to retire and we found someone within our family who was willing to carry on the commitment to [the] community.”  Bruce and Sue Goldsen have stepped in to help run the stations in Jackson and Hillsdale following Jamie’s passing.

He loved everything about the outdoors, and was an avid hunter and fisherman. McKibbin’s other passion was going to his son Walker’s sporting activities, especially coaching his baseball team.

McKibbin is survived by his wife and his 14-year old son, Walker. In addition to Katina and Walker, He is survived by his mother, Sharon and father Robert, brother Marty McKibbin, mother and father in law Ken and Pauline Kuhn, brother and sister in law Kevin and Casey Kuhn, niece and nephew Payton and Colin Kuhn, and so many very close friends.

Jamie McKibbin behind the mic

Jamie McKibbin was predeceased by his grandmother and grandfather, Evelyn and Leonard Black, and grandparents Clifford and Vera McKibbin.

Family and friends are invited to view a live webcast of the service on Friday, November 20, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. by visiting the tribute wall of Jamie’s obituary page at www.eaglefuneralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking donations be made to the Michigan Association of Broadcasters Jamie McKibbin Memorial Scholarship Fund or to the family for a scholarship fund for Walker.

The MAB extends its condolences to Jamie’s family, employees and friends.