We all loved Cory

Cory Pylant died the other day and his death made the TV news, something that would have made that old media hound mighty proud.

His was an inauspicious life. He faced 46 years of challenges and the most important things you can say about Cory’s time on earth was that his family loved him dearly and that he could always make his many friends laugh.

When he loved he loved deeply. He loved his Mama, Diet Dr Pepper, the Georgia Bulldogs, Johnny Outlaw, Krystal Sunrisers and a replica of a WWE championship belt that someone gave him as a present. But few things made him happier than hearing his name mentioned on the air.

Cory never had a career, though he worked at McDonald’s for a while. Most of his time was spent at home listening to the radio, watching the news or cheering his favorite wrestler on “Monday Night Raw.” He was a groupie before the word was coined.

When a DJ said the ninth caller would win a free CD, Cory grabbed the phone. If there was a weekend remote at a car dealer, Cory showed up. He called stations so often that everybody knew his name and his unmistakable voice.

Mostly people were nice to him, even letting him deliver the weather. But occasionally an on-air personality poked fun at him. Cory didn’t care. He called the next night as if nothing was wrong.

More than anything Cory loved the ladies. He used to wear a necklace that included photographs of his media favorites. On Valentine’s Day, he showed up with homemade cards. He could be a nuisance, but the women considered him harmless.

Cory hasn’t called the stations much lately. He’s been in and out of the hospital. Most of his calls begged for change so he could sneak around and get a Dr Pepper though doctors warned him not to imbibe.

He feared they had forgotten him, but how could anyone forget Cory? On Tuesday, Chuck Leonard talked about his passing on WTVM and current and former broadcasters posted fond messages about him online.

They remembered that he ended every call with three simple words: “I love you.”

And in return they loved Cory.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 9:21 PM with the headline "We all loved Cory."