ENTERPRISE, Ala. (WDHN) — The sound of one of Mike Gurspan’s favorite songs, Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down”, and the Florida Gator fight song were two of seven songs that filled Sorrells Funeral Home and Crematory in Enterprise on Monday as hundreds gathered to celebrate the life of Gurspan.
“I remember my dad said, ‘You can tell who your friends are when you’re hurt or when you’re broke.’ I would like to amend that to that anytime you need help and Mike was always there for me,” Longtime friend, Bob Teer said.
“Mike had one true love and her name was television news and Mike poured himself into that work,” WDHN News Director Glen Horn said. “It gave meaning to him.”
“He will be missed by a lot of people in the Wiregrass,” Pastor John Granger said.
The funeral service was unconventional but his family says that is how Gurspan would have wanted it to be.
“This was Mike’s last news story and we want to memorialize it,” Mike’s sister, Cathy Gurspan said. “Celebrate his uniqueness and celebrate his sense of humor.”
Wiregrass officials, current and former coworkers, and friends gathered with Mike’s family to say goodbye to a man who left an impression on so many people.
A man who was the same person off-air as on-air.
“Mike is somebody that he wasn’t somebody that you just knew,” Friend, Barbara Blinn said. “He was somebody when he came into your life he made you family.”
“He loved reporting too much to cut back and he loved talking to people,” Horn said. “Mike was as comfortable interviewing a senator as he was a garbage man. Mike gave the garbage man his due just as much as the senator.”
The man people tuned in 5 nights a week to watch for over 30 years left memories and a legacy that will live on forever.
A man who made the Wiregrass home and brought to life the phrase “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life.”
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDHN – wdhn.com.
Signup bonus from
