This program is a news program... which means it's our duty to report when people of note pass away. It's with very heavy hearts that we mark the passing of a member of the KPCC family.

Longtime Morning Edition anchor Steve Julian died yesterday from complications from brain cancer. 

He was 57 years old.

He made so many of our lives that much better each morning, hosting out of the studio just across the hall... which has been renamed - The Steve Julian studio. 

Listeners have been weighing in with their memories of Steve at our website and there's a recurring sentiment there: I never met Steve - listeners write -- but I feel like I knew him. 

That's the beautiful part of this deeply intimate medium. You may not know what we look like, you may never have been introduced to us face to face and yet, we become part of your regular routine.

Though Steve actually was a tremendous theatrical talent, that avuncular nature, that feeling that Steve was the kind of guy you'd just want to hang out with...that was no act. 

He WAS that guy.

Warm and wise, with an acerbic wit. We encourage you to share your thoughts online at kpcc.org.

Listener, Natalie Windsor put it quite well:

"He's been with us as we emerged nude and dripping from the shower, gently authoritative before we had our coffee, and genially protective as he warned us about traffic snags and news events... KPCC can replace Steve Julian's function, but not his wit and warmth".

To hear the full segment, click the blue play button above.