Originally posted Tuesday, August 14, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Wylie Rose, a former mid-day host at Kicks 101.5 from 2002 to 2008, passed away from cancer August 9. She was 44. Her real name was Melissa Meadows Hart.
Her mom Shelby Melton said her daughter was diagnosed with a tumor in her kidney this past May. She had been feeling sick since December but Melton said her daughter downplayed her issues to her. By the time the doctors had a look, Hart's cancer had metastasized into her liver, her lungs and her brain. It was too late to treat.
“She was always so healthy,” Melton said. “This was totally out of left field.”
Hart has been living in the Nashville area and married a contractor Christopher Hart. Her daughter Ruby Sage is two. Before Hart's illness, she and her husband were planning a spiritual life coaching venture.
A.J. Cannon, who worked with Hart at Kicks, said he was "immediately struck by how outgoing, friendly and wacky she was. She will be missed by all who know and love her."
Melton said her daughter loved Kicks and “put all her heart and soul into it.” When Citadel Broadcasting took over the station in 2008, it cleaned house and she lost her job. She later worked in radio in the Nashville area.
“She loved everybody and wanted to help everybody be a better person,” her mom said.
Hart is also survived by her 21-year-old son Samuel Brian Meadows and 17-year-old daughter Shelby Ann Meadows from a previous marriage.
Here is her video when she announced her cancer diagnosis to the world in May.
Hart posted a video on YouTube the day before she passed on August 8, showing that she had a positive spirit no matter how bad things were going. She had thrown up blood and ended up in the ICU.
“I’m not going to assign this as a negative thing,” she said. “I will let it be what it is.”
The doctors were talking about transferring her to hospice. “My mother and I have decided to search high and low for a T-shirt that says ‘Not Dead Yet.’ Nobody said the word hospice to me. They don’t say things to you. They don’t want to upset you!”
Her final words: “Feeling good! Looking good! Don’t need hospice! Thank you very much! I’ll keep you posted beautiful friends. Namaste.”
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