Radio personality Jeff Burton who co-hosted as part of The Point 105.7’s The Rizzuto Show has died aged 55 following a long battle with cancer.
His Rizzuto co-hosts announced the news of his passing on air on Monday (August 15), with the St Louis station also releasing a statement on its site.
While he became known to Point listeners as part of The Rizzuto Show team, he also authored his own children’s book titled, The Watering Hole.
As fans look back over his radio career, we learn more on Jeff Burton’s book about “being kind to others, making new friends, and working together to solve a problem.”
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The radio host authored his own children’s book
Burton was a veteran in the world of radio as he had worked on-air since the mid-80s. He was also a part of St Louis station, The Point, for almost three decades.
During his 29-year stint at the station, Burton initially worked as a DJ before later becoming a familiar voice to listeners as part of the station’s weekday morning broadcast, The Rizzuto Show.
The Rizzuto Show launched in 2014, with Burton working as a co-producer and a host as he presented its celebrity news section, aka C**p On Celebrities.
Having become known for his presence on the airwaves, the radio personality also branched out into writing as he authored his own children’s book titled The Watering Hole.
Jeff Burton published The Watering Hole four years ago
The radio personality released the children’s book in late 2018, with his longtime station, The Point, announcing the news on Twitter.
Burton later opened up on the release and why he decided to release a children’s book while appearing on St Louis Presents in January 2019.
In the sit-down interview, he said it was something he had wanted to do for some time. Burton explained: “It is one of those things that was just bouncing around in my head forever. You know how everybody goes, ‘oh man, I can write a book, and I actually wound up doing it. It’s kind of cool.” He later echoed: “I’ve always wanted to do a children’s book.”
The book follows the story of a group of animals who make new friends as they end up working together in search of a watering hole so they can all quench their thirst.
As per Burton’s Twitter bio, his book has won three accolades, with the radio host having previously gushed over its nominations in a post on the micro-blogging site. His bio also links to the site Lulu where The Watering Hole is still available to buy.
Burton was a father of two
The Point host is survived by his two daughters, Abby and Casey, who he shared with wife Juli.
In his same St Louis Presents feature in 2019, while discussing the thought process behind The Watering Hole, the radio host fondly remembered the time when he would read similar books like The Watering hole to his daughters when they were younger.
However, near the end of the interview, when asked if he tested the book out on his own children, he joked: “mine are way too old, unfortunately.”