St. Augustine, FL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – “Mr. Morning” has passed away.

Bruce Baag, former State of Illinois employee and WTAX morning host, died August 3 in Florida at the age of 89, according to his son, Chris, in a social media posting.

Born James Bruce Baag March 4, 1938, Baag was a native of Glenview, but came to Springfield after graduating from Southern Illinois University.  He was a morning show host and reporter at WTAX, Chris Baag said, and eventually became known as “Mr. Morning.”  Bruce Baag worked at WTAX from roughly the mid-1970’s until around 1990.

“I remember him covering the ice storm of ’78,” Chris Baag wrote to Will Stevenson.  “He stayed at the station for several days straight as it was one of the only stations on the air with a generator.”  That was during a time when the WTAX/WDBR studios were still at the station’s transmitter site on South Dirksen Parkway.  Chris Baag, by the way, also worked for the stations for a time.

But WTAX is not when Bruce Baag’s broadcasting career ended — far from it.  He later worked for the State of Illinois as one of the voices of the Illinois Information Service, which distributes state news coverage to radio and television stations statewide, regardless of the political affiliation of the Governor at the time, including to stations that might not otherwise have any such coverage.

According to Chris Baag, Bruce and his wife Marcia retired to St. Augustine, Florida, in 2008, “where they enjoyed a new chapter of life and more time with their grandchildren, Anna and Jackson,” wrote Chris Baag.  “Bruce especially cherished Anna’s softball games and theater performances & taking in shows and following Jackson’s baseball career, traveling to most of his high school, travel ball, and college games, proudly cheering him on from the stands with many cherished family friends.”

“Please join us in a tip of the cap to a life well lived to our very own Mr. Morning,” Chris Baag wrote.  “He lived a great life; he loved all animals, nature, anything transportation-related, especially a great road trip. He never met a prime rib or steak dinner he didn’t like, and he loved a good Broadway show. He taught his beautiful granddaughter how to enter a stage and take a bow, and loved a 3-2 count when his favorite pitcher #24 got the K. He loved saying thanks for being my friend, and he really meant it. Thank you to those who were his friends, made him smile, and loved his jokes. Nothing made him happier than looking around a table and seeing people eating great food, laughing and smiling at his stories, which we will all surely miss.”