Dr. Jerry Nolan, one of the founders of Friends of Public Radio, died on November 3 after an extraordinary 99-year life. The community continues to mourn his passing. In addition to his busy and distinguished medical career, Jerry was passionate about opera. WHQR was founded by Jerry and fellow opera buffs when in 1979 the weekly Saturday afternoon Metropolitan Opera Broadcast was cancelled by the local commercial station that carried it. Jerry wrote a seminal Letter to the Editor of the Wilmington Morning Star, inviting fellow opera lovers to join a new group called Friends of the Opera, to restore opera on the radio to Southeastern North Carolina.