Former KFVS12 chief Meagle recalled as smart, serious, knowledgeable

Co-workers of former KFVS12 general manager Howard Meagle Jr., who died May 9 at age 76, are remembering the West Virginia native who led the CBS affiliate from 1992 to 2001.

"(Howard) started at almost at the bottom in television and worked his way up," said Dave Heise of Egypt Mills, who worked in master control for KFVS12 for 40 years.

"He was everybody's boss and he liked to know everything that was going on, and when some new product came out for our industry, he was in the know."

Jim Burns of Cape Girardeau, retired longtime anchor of KFVS12's "The Breakfast Show," echoed Heise's recollection.

"(Meagle) spent more time in the newsroom than many general managers because of his close relationship with (former news director) Jon Janes," Burns said. "He was one of my favorite bosses and could be very intimidating in his G.M. role. Sometimes you have to be that way as a leader."

Burns said Meagle, who did an earlier KFVS12 stint as director of station operations from 1980 to 1983, watched the budget closely.

"He kept some tight purse strings. (Howard) used to say, 'If you don't see it on the air, I'm not going to spend money on it,'" which Burns said meant Meagle was not often receptive to upgrading certain parts of the TV station invisible to the home viewer.

"(Meagle) was serious. He didn't joke around," said Heise, who retired in 2011, noting the late executive met his wife, the former JoAnna Chvala, while she worked in sales at the station. The couple, whose union produced two children, married in 1981 and she survives him.

Burns said there was another side to Meagle if you saw him outside the office.

"(Howard) played on the KFVS12 softball team, playing middle infield, and he was a natural athlete. We went to the Sikeston rodeo once, and let's just say we both wore attire appropriate to the occasion," he said.

Heise said his former employer was familiar enough with all aspects of the station's operation that "(Meagle) knew it could be done. He was a smart man."

Meagle, who attended a military institute in Wheeling, West Virginia, graduated from the University of Virginia in 1964, then began a more than 40-year career in television.

The Meagles retired to a family cottage in Tomahawk, Wisconsin, in 2016.

There were no formal funeral services, in accordance with Meagle's wishes.