The J-AIR family mourns the passing of the doyen of presenters Basil Ornellas, who died Thursday (30 May) surrounded by loved ones.
Basil, who hosted the popular, two-hour weekly program Morning Miscellany, was buried at Springvale cemetery on Sunday (2 June).
Basil and his family came to Australia from South Africa in 1978 aged 41, with wife Edith and children Shaun and Jacqui. He joined J-AIR 88 FM in 2016 following a five-year stint as a volunteer presenter at Golden Days Radio.
“In 2016 I joined J-AIR Radio. I was made very welcome, and it is here where I am now happily ensconced, producing my weekly Wednesday morning two-hour program, Morning Miscellany“, Basil said on joining J-AIR.
J-AIR 88FM founder Robert Bontscek said: “Basil was a true gentleman and great radio professional. These qualities will be sorely missed.
“His Morning Miscellany program, to quote the great man himself, was “designed to steer you away from the day’s problems and stridencies”.
And, he did that very successfully for almost 10 years.
“We wish his family a long life and may Basil’s memory be for a blessing,” Bontschek said.