Via KPAM 860's Facebook Page:
"Sad news here today -- we just recieved word one of our radio colleagues and former KPAM anchor Heidi Tauber was killed in a car crash. She was an amazing woman, a strong newsperson, a funny & caring friend and gave the world's best hugs. Taubs, we'll miss ya.
If you have any memories of Heidi you would like to share, we would love... to hear them."
So sad. I used to enjoy listening to Heidi with Thom Hartmann on his local show on KPOJ. I didn't really know her, but I met her briefly at an event once or twice and she seemed really cool.
This really hurts. From our time at KEX to KPAM Heidi is one of the sweetest, funniest, and most gracious people I've had the pleasure to work with. This tragedy is hard to bear for her family I'm sure. Our prayers are with them.I know many of us will always remember that amazing voice. I will fondly remember how Taubs could always make me laugh.
Very sad. I knew Heidi when she was working at KEX, as I was just getting started in the biz. She encouraged me several times when I was down, not thinking things were going to work out. She will be missed.
I really enjoyed being around Heidi at KEX when I was down the hall at Z. Here's the O's story:
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/03/portland_police_identify_drive.html
I just heard the news and am shocked. I have great memories of working the evening shift with Heidi for a number of years at KEX. I had a chance to work with her again at KPAM from 2003-2004.
Heidi was a lot of fun to work with because, while she took her job seriously, she never took life too serious. We'd always joke about how a girl from Libby, Montana could find her way to being on the radio in Portland, Oregon. When I think Heidi, I'll always smile as she was a great person.
All of us here at OPB will miss her terribly. I truly enjoyed working with her.
Oh wow. When I read the title of this thread, I got a sick feeling in my gut, and hoped somehow it was wrong.
Heidi was a real treat to work with. My production studio was adjacent to the KEX newsroom, and I'd often chat with her in the evenings. My wife has family in Whitefish, Montana, which isn't too far from Libby. Whenever we were headed over there, Heidi would tell me to say to her family for me (as if I knew them 
).
Bless you, Heidi. You'll be missed.
Here's a little more from KGW. The video is from this morning, but the text has been updated.
http://www.kgw.com/news/-Woman-dies-in-head-on-I-405-wreck-118573759.html
Heidi, you were one of the good ones. 
You complimented Bob Miller, both at KEX and KPAM, very well. (Bob: Didn't she fill in for you a time or two?) You will, indeed, be missed. Best, M. 
Such sad news. She was such a sweetheart and an amazing news person. After my cancer surgery, she came to a benefit for CCA just to give me a hug. Heidi you will be missed. Rest well my friend.
I got a sick feeling when I found out about Heidi's death. She will be missed by her listeners and her friends.
I don't recall Heidi ever filling in for me, msn but I do remember her filling in on the morning news during my show. My memory of that is Heidi walking into the control room while I was setting up to go on. She gave me a stern look and said..."I don't handle mornings well so don't expect me to have a personality until I've had an entire pot of coffee". Then she walked out of the room. I started laughing. She turned around and stuck out her tongue. I made sure she had plenty of coffee. It was a fun morning. Good times.
It's a loss words cannot express. Where does one start...you can't. She was brightness in everyone's day if you were lucky enough to know her. A fine broadcaster, too, an exceptional communicator. (She'll want to be remembered for that.) Gonna miss that smile. Ron, we are thinking of you. Our hearts are heavy.
I'm just sick. I remember being a bright green reporter in the old KEX newsroom and frustrated because I couldn't seem to get my wraps under :40. Heidi showed me how to shave unnecessary words off my stories so they fit in the allotted time but still made sense. And she made work fun. She had an unforgettable radio voice too. She will be missed.
I am so out of the loop back here in Minnesota. Just received an email about Heidi, and feel so sad. She was a long time Babe in Broadcasting and we go way back together. The last time I saw her was at her wedding and she was positively radiant. My sympathies to her husband and family.
When I heard the news it felt like I had been kicked in the gut. Heidi was a joy to work with. I will always remember her smile and her kindness. She was a special lady. I echo Kevin Allen's comment: Heidi made work fun. I will never forget the laughs coming out of the studio when Heidi was anchoring the KPAM afternoon news with the late Bob Chase. Now there was a pair! RIP Heidi.
I never worked with Heidi, as we were competitors in this market. But we were always friends (sharing stories, leads, phone numbers, etc.)
As Kevin and Bill and Mark & Dave and others have already said, I'm sick and kicked in the gut, too.
What a huge loss.
This is so awful. Who didn't love working with Heidi? I worked with her at KINK, KEX, KPOJ...and she was so full of light and love, every single day. Charming, stunning, a pretty good skier....and the BEST laugh in radio. God, how I will miss her. Dear Lord...could we have her back for just one more day?
As I said before, I will never forget Heidi's laugh. Here is a clip of Heidi and the late Bob Chase during a recording session at KPAM for a teaser for the afternoon news they anchored. To put this in context, we had been doing endless stories about Krispy Kream coming to Portland. Heidi hated those stories. Bob Chase took the opportunity to pull a "gotcha". Enjoy!
http://www.mediafire.com/?7gua631wky6kraw
Why would she go the wrong way on the freeway??
Hope she wasn't drinking; we'll find out in a few weeks...
R.I.P. Heidi
I was listening to the police scanner on the internet when I heard the initial call. They repeated the last name of the car's owner over the air - I was so hoping that it wasn't her. She was such a sweet person, and always had a kind word for anybody who she sensed was down or troubled. Doesn't it seem that this sort of thing happens to to somebody that you're actually gonna miss?
"Don't it always seem to go...that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone?"
What Shocking News! How can this happen to such a wonderful person?! Heidi was a joy to work with at Kisn-FM where she was News Director. Always upbeat! What a terrible loss this is for our radio family.
OMG!!
What a loss! @Mick, it always seems like it happens to the nice, good people.
I'm sad, and I will miss Heidi big. 
Please send my best thoughts to her survivors.
As Matt Jones noted the Z100 production room was accessed via the KEX newsroom. It was there most of my conversations with Heidi took place. She would tease me when I would have extra trips.
Like everyone else here I am in shock and deeply saddened. Extra prayers for her family.
Bill that clip captured the essence of both Bob and Heidi! The old Chaseroo loved to have fun in the booth.
Indeed. The shock of this is really felt. I do miss working with Heidi as well. She had a healthy cynicism for this business and was always good conversation. I remember her quite often talking about wanting to return to Montana and just take it easy. What a shame she did not get to see that dream through.
I feel an immense sense of loss. She was one of my all-time favorite Portland voices. By all accounts, Heidi had talent that was only surpassed by the size of her heart. For years, listeners faithfully followed her from station to station. My thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends and colleagues.
This is horrible, I remember when she worked with Dwight Janes and Thom Hartmann. RIP
Indeed, my 10+ years here, this is the most shocking thread ever. How sad. I particularly enjoyed the on air banter she had with Dwight Jaynes and Mike Parker. Huge loss.
Bill - Thanks for posting the outtake with Bob & Heidi.....two great people who are and will be missed. That clip perfectly personified their fun personalities! This is a great example of how we take for granted some great people who are around us everyday, be it family, friends and/or co-workers. I had the privilege of working with both of these people for many years. I miss Bob & I'll miss Heidi.
This is such sad news!! I'll always remember her days covering the news on Q105, along with Big Jim Ryan. I wasn't aware that she had been with OPB in recent times.
Craig,
Could you post a list of all the Portland stations Heidi was a part of?
I photographed Heidi (with Sheila Hamilton) in June, 2006, at a Bus Project gala event where she was a panelist (judging some videos that were made for the event as I recall). I just dug these out of my archive and put them up:
http://www.portlandbridges.com/00,5D0IMG06040,334,1,0,0-heidi-tauber.html
"Could you post a list of all the Portland stations Heidi was a part of?"
There are most likely omissions in the listing below, any corrections are welcome.
Heidi Tauber Esping was born in Libby, Montana in 1959.
KINK - 1988-1991.
Kisn-FM - 1991-1993 (News Director)
Q105 - 1993-1994.
KEX - 1994-2000.
KPAM - May 1, 2000-2004.
KPOJ - Apr 2005-May 7, 2008.
KCMD fill-in - Dec 2008.
KOIN-TV - 2009.
KOPB-FM - Sept 29, 2009.
This from All Access:
http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/89143/oregon-public-radio-anchor-heidi-tauber-dies-in-ca
OPB News:
http://news.opb.org/article/87989-opb-announcer-killed-head-crash/
KVAL:
http://www.kval.com/news/local/118551974.html
It is heartbreaking to see Heidi leave us this way. Her robust laughter and warm smile touched us all. Some people come into our lives and suddenly go, leaving imprints on our hearts and we are never, ever the same. May you always walk in sunshine and pivot in deep powder.
The KVAL article posted above by Craig includes a wonderful headshot photo of Heidi that was provided by the folks at OPB. What a smile!
One good thing about this is we have several newcomers to the group, including Bob Miller, Todd Tolces and Rich Patterson, among others. Welcome aboard, folks. Heidi apperently had a talent for drawing good people around her, and it's nice to see some of her friends and admirers gathering around on this board, too. I think she'd have liked that. I, like many others, didn't know she'd been doing a Friday night gig on OPB-FM since 2009. That chair will be hard to fill, now...
best, M.
Very sad news and I (still) find it difficult to get my head around it all. Heidi was the kind of person that helped make a radio station a fun place to work. She was incredibly funny and absolutely talented.
A story:
Heidi worked at KEX and I did the nightshow at Z100 when someone decided to spray orange, road paint all over my shiny, new, black car. It was sitting in a dark, parking lot at the station and she had just drove in and had seen it. I was in the studio and her head popped in the door: "Sorry about your car, honey". At that point, I didn't know what had happened. "WHAT??!!", I said. We both walked down to the parking lot and there it was-destroyed. As it turned out....an ex-girlfriend of mine had spray painted my car. We both had a huge laugh. She gave me a hug and we went back to work.
I will miss her.
Rest In Peace, Heidi.
The world is now without a very smart, attractive, witty and talented human being. She will be missed!
I join our radio family in mourning the loss of someone we all loved. I, too, had many great conversations with Heidi about life and radio when we worked together at KEX and KPAM. I was able to exchange e-mails with her a couple of weeks ago when she reached out to me from the station she was working for on the Coast. She was excited to be at the Beach and was looking forward to Ron's retirement to the coast. You meet some very special people you love all your life, and Heidi was one of those for me. A reminder we should tell the folks we love we appreciate them ... and do much more to cultivate friendships.
I was fortunate enough to get to know Heidi in the last few months since she came to work with us here at KTIL/Coast 105. She was fun to work with and we had good times sharing stories of radio in the "old days". What a talent she was and with a voice I would give anything to have. Luckily we got to hang out a little on Tuesday and I got to wave goodbye to her as she was leaving Tillamook, just two hours before the crash. We are all devastated to have lost one of our own. RIP my friend.
This is such a loss, a light has really gone out. Heidi was smart, vivacious, talented and funny. Her rich voice was such a gift, and you’re right Todd, she had the best laugh around, to say nothing of that absolutely knockout smile.
I was, as you all were, shocked to hear this as well.
Steve Duin wrote this: "I don't pretend I knew her that well. I'm just one of hundreds of Oregonians who, over the years, fell in love with Tauber's radio voice."
That's me also. As I've been here at PDXradio for about 10 years, and formerly briefly in the radio biz, and an avid listener always, I felt I "knew" Heidi a bit. She was wonderful on air, as you pros have articulated.
Believe me, when I saw the crawler tease on KATU, "Radio annoucer dies in crash", my thoughts immediately came to this board, and you all. And, reading your heartfelt tributes has made me proud to be a small part of this family. My thoughts and prayers go out to Heidi's memory and her family and friends. The PDX radio community has lost another great one.
I remember working with Heidi at KPAM. She was a wonderful, kind, caring person to work with. She hated the Sean Hannity show just as much as I did. But she never let it show. Rest in peace Heidi. You will be missed.
Northwest Cable News article with KGW video:
http://www.nwcn.com/home/?fId=118573759&fPath=/news/local&fDomain=10202
The KGW video accompanying the NWCN story uses the OPB-produced headshot of Heidi that was used on the KVAL story posted above. The accident closed the US-30 exit off I-405 for several hours Wed. night at the west end of the Fremont Bridge over the Willamette River...Best, M.
You can detect on the air these last few days the sadness that's hanging over Portland radio. We've lost other friends, but we sure didn't see this one coming. So many people knew Heidi and liked her so much, because her long career took her through so many doors. KINK. KISN. KEX. KPAM. KPOJ. OPB. You could play "two degrees of Heidi Tauber" and name everyone in the business. We're all heartsick, and will be for some time.
That has got to be really hard.
To find the energy and passion to entertain and inform with a loss like that remembered all the time is just awful. So many triggers to remember...
Good on all of you for doing it like you know how to do.
Farewell My Dear.. Dear Friend & Radio mentor.... Heidi Tauber. My heart is broken & I miss you soooo much already.... I will never forget dancing in the studio to our favorite song September !!! You brought a smile to my face everyday... and laugh... OMG... We had the best laughs !!! In your short time on this earth....YOU made a difference in so many lives...What an honor to work with you!!! You are the BEST voice in Tillamook County... not to mention the State of Oregon !! Will always Love YOU Girl & never..ever.... forget your hugs !!!!
Since the beginning of this heartbreaking thread, it was and still is, a shock to read. Unfortunately, I was never given the opportunity to work with Heidi Tauber, as a couple of the stations we both enjoyed, were those that didn't sync in time.
However, I ALWAYS heard great things about her from everyone I worked with at the stations she graced the halls with.
God Bless her on the new road she travels, as it should be full of joy, happiness and love, amplified a hundred fold more than the extreme amount of love she has touched by the many here and more out there on the waves of life.
Rest in peach.
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