The Calgary Stampeder Football Club is deeply saddened to learn of the tragic deaths of longtime Calgary radio broadcaster Billy Powers and his wife Donna Lee.

“Bill was a larger-than-life person who brought laughter to everyone around him,” said Stampeders president Gordon Norrie. “He was an engaged Calgarian in terms of the community and a valuable and contributing member of the Stampeder Football Club. Bill and Donna Lee will be missed.”

Powers was an integral part of CHQR radio’s broadcast coverage of Stampeders football until his retirement in 2009.

Even after retiring, Powers remained a fixture at McMahon Stadium and he continued to serve on the football club’s Wall of Fame selection committee. Prior to joining CHQR, he worked for the Stampeders in the media relations department.

He started his journalistic career as a newspaper reporter in 1961 before making the switch to radio in the late 1960s.

Powers was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.