Former longtime owner of Middletown radio station dies at 85

The longtime owner and operator of a former Middletown radio station has died.

Doug Braden, who spent 40 years as the owner/operator of WPFB AM/FM in Middletown and WPAY AM/FM in Portsmouth, died Friday at Mary Rutan Hospital in Bellefontaine. He was 85.

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Braden also was an honorary deputy sheriff with the Butler County Sheriff’s Office.

Braden, a Dayton native and Ohio State University graduate, worked as an insurance broker in California before entering the radio business.

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He’s survived by a daughter, Lisa Braden, of Huntsville, and a step-son, David Elliott, of Lemoore, Calif. There will be no services at this time. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the staff of Eichholtz Daring & Sanford Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Bellefontaine.

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