ARKANSAS, USA — According to a post by Nash 94.3, country radio host "Big Dan" Hentschel died on March 30 at the age of 72.
The morning radio host turned local celebrity spent 50 years "waking, cajoling, nudging, and pushing people out of bed," according to Nash's website.
Josh Bertaccini, a sports commentator who worked with Hentschel for 12 years remembers "grumbling about life while prepping shows way too early in the mornings. He had a golden voice and a life-long passion for broadcasting."
Fellow radio host James Poe at Big Country 107.3 said Big Dan loved where he lived and worked, "He loved the years he got to do this. That's why he wouldn't quit until literally the end."
On Nash's website, Hentschel is quoted as saying "I haven't gone to work a day in my life - I love what I do ... I came to Northwest Arkansas in the late 60s to go to college and never left."
Big Dan used his time as a DJ to give back to the community he loved.
"There's no telling how many hundreds of thousands of dollars that Dan helped raise for different charities," said Poe.
Nash describes Hentschel as a man "that was larger than life ... To say that the Nash family is in shock would be an understatement ... How do you honor such a man and such a legend?"
"Every day is a new adventure," said Big Dan.
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