Koblas, 67, died from complications following a stoke, the station said.

Koblas, a Sioux Falls, S.D., native, lived in Mobile for the last 42 years, according to his family.

“Jim was always in a good mood,” said WALA program manager Larry Pate. “If things were bad, he would always give them a good or funny twist.”

Pate continued, “When he came, it was back when there wasn’t a lot to do. There weren’t many of us, so we did everything together as a group. We were all close. He was a great guy. He was very friendly, he was never down.”

Koblas went to work for the station in 1968, according to the stations’ website, and left in 1982, when he went to work as a sports broadcaster for radio station WKSJ for about 10 years.

He also served as an announcer at speedway until August, when he suffered the stroke.

According to his family, Koblas also worked as a paralegal after his retirement from broadcasting.

Koblas told the Press-Register in 2008 that his first vehicle was a “1953 Ford four-door with a flathead V-8 and automatic transmission. .¤.¤. Nothing too memorable about the car except that at 19.9 cents per gallon for gasoline, a dollar or two would handle Friday and Saturday nights — add to that a dollar for the drive-in movies and may be a dollar spent while cruising the hamburger joints. What a weekend!”

Koblas is survived by his wife, Sally S. Koblas, of Mobile; four children, Lee Alyson Koblas, Trenee’ Koblas Bain, Jami Koblas Kelly, James Scott Koblas; two step-children, Meagan Marie Holt, John Matthew Holt; and seven grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Monday at Mobile Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, 6040 Three Notch Road. Graveside services and interment will be held at 10 a.m. Monday in Mobile Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Koblas’ name, according to the family.