The owner of a collection of radio stations serving the Twin Tiers of New York and Pennsylvania has died, with his widow becoming the executor of his estate — and the controlling interest holder in his broadcast properties.
Gordon Ichikawa, who headed Tower Broadcasting, died unexpectedly on December 2, 2023 while snorkeling in Aruba. He was 71 years of age and maintained a second home there.
Ichikawa, beloved by the community in Bath, N.Y., came together for a December 17, 2023 memorial service streamed on YouTube to accommodate the large number of mourners.
With his passing in the Netherlands Antilles, Dawn Ichikawa was immediately appointed as the executor of her husband’s estate by a Steuben County, N.Y., court.
This put the wheels in motion for legal counsel Reid Avett and Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) to seek FCC approval to have the estate assume the licensees of Ichikawa’s stations: WABH-AM & WVIN-FM in Bath, N.Y.; along with FM translators W293CE and W262CX in Bath. Those stations were acquired in 2015 after former owner Pembrook Pines went into receivership, with Richard A. Foreman and Associates serving as the seller.
At the time, Tower also owned WEHH-AM, WELM-AM, WLVY-FM & WOKN-FM in the Corning-Elmira market. WLVY ownership came to an end in October 2022; WELM and WOKN were sold in March 2023 by Tower.
