Longtime conservative radio host Matt Patrick has died of cancer at the age of 58.
Patrick, who most recently hosted a morning show on KTRH-AM in Houston, died Sunday from esophageal cancer. Patrick was diagnosed with the disease in September 2015, according to the Houston Chronicle.
On July 5, just days before his death, Patrick took to the airwaves to announce he no longer would seek treatment for the illness. Instead, he told his listeners, “It’ll be up to God.”
“There will be no more fighting. There will be no more going back to the hospital. It’ll be up to God. Whatever God decides to do, that’s what I will do,” Patrick said.
“I also understand that because of that I have to take the high road, I have to say this is what we’re going to do. If this works that’s great. But if it doesn’t work – and at some point it won’t – then I’ll just say, you know, thank you for everything.”
And with that sobering acknowledgement, Patrick signed off after more than 40 years on radio.
Patrick began his morning show on KTRH-AM in 2017. Before moving to Texas, Patrick had radio shows at WKDD-AM and WHLO-AM in Akron, Ohio, and at WTAM-AM in Cleveland, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Patrick also worked for WTRC-AM in South Bend, Ind., TV Newser reported.
Keith Kennedy, Patrick’s co-host from his days at WKDD-AM in Akron, reacted Sunday to news of Patrick’s death in a Facebook post.
“So very sorry to hear Matt Patrick passed away Sunday afternoon. He was a gifted performer on the radio but most importantly a father, friend and husband. The WKDD family sends our best to his family. Thanks for the memories.. the world won’t be the same,” Kennedy wrote.
Fort Bend County, Texas, Sheriff Troy Nehls took to Twitter Sunday to announce Patrick’s death.
“On behalf of his family, I am saddened to announce the passing of Matt Patrick,” Nehls wrote. “He was a good friend and will be missed. Svc details soon.”
The Akron Beacon-Journal reported that a memorial service for Patrick will be held near Houston. Patrick will be laid to rest in Ohio at a private burial service.
In a statement posted on its website, KTRH-AM remembered Patrick as a “true conservative” who “believed in protecting and defending the Constitution and all that it stands for just as our founding fathers would have wanted and expected.”
Patrick was a two-time inductee into the Radio and Television Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Although Patrick spent hours behind a microphone, his family said in a statement that his “true passion” was his family.
“He truly lived life to the fullest through simple pleasures such as taking his 12-year-old son Jake on annual father/son cabin trips, going anywhere that had a lake or an ocean to watch the sunrise, watching football every Sunday, and starting almost every day in the hot tub to pray,” the family’s statement read.
“He loved to make people laugh with his unique and entertaining way with words.”
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In February 2015, just eight months before he was diagnosed with cancer, Patrick accepted an award from Houston’s Fisher House charity for U.S. veterans. Patrick had held an hours-long radio-thon to raise more than $40,000 for America’s wounded heroes.
In Akron, Patrick was honored for helping to raise “millions of dollars” for the Akron Children’s Hospital over the course of several years through radio-thons.
“Akron Children’s Hospital is deeply saddened by the passing of Matt Patrick, who so generously gave of his time and talent,” the hospital said in a statement, according to the Akron Beacon-Journal.
The hospital’s statement said the money raised helped “support patient care, education and research to benefit the children we serve.” The hospital added that it is “forever grateful” for Patrick’s work and that “our thoughts are with his family.”
Patrick leaves behind his wife, Paula, and three young children, Jake, Alexandra and Alanna.
Longtime conservative radio host Matt Patrick has died of cancer at the age of 58.
Patrick, who most recently hosted a morning show on KTRH-AM in Houston, died Sunday from esophageal cancer. Patrick was diagnosed with the disease in September 2015, according to the Houston Chronicle.
On July 5, just days before his death, Patrick took to the airwaves to announce he no longer would seek treatment for the illness. Instead, he told his listeners, “It’ll be up to God.”
“There will be no more fighting. There will be no more going back to the hospital. It’ll be up to God. Whatever God decides to do, that’s what I will do,” Patrick said. 
