The Natchez community lost a radio icon Thursday morning with the death of WNAT/WQNZ broadcaster Geoffrey &uot;Jeff&uot; Holt.

He died suddenly at home early Thursday, leaving a community in shock and grief.

&uot;He was one of the finest human beings I’ve ever known,&uot; said Marie Perkins, who with husband Sammy owns the radio station where Holt worked. &uot;He worked for us for 13 years and we are totally lost.&uot;

Natchez Alderman Theodore &uot;Bubber&uot; West said his daughter Tammie West Jones looked at Holt as an adopted grandfather for her son Kengi when she and her husband lived near the Holts. &uot;You know, if we had more people in Natchez like Jeff — who never met a stranger and was the same every time you met him — we would have a better community,&uot; West said.

Scott Kimbrell Sr. of Kimbrell Office Supply on Main Street said he’s been a friend of Holt’s since Holt first moved to Natchez.

&uot;He was just always special to everybody he touched — especially at our church,&uot; Kimbrell said.

Holt’s pastor, the Rev. Curtis Moffat of Jefferson Street United Methodist Church, said Holt was well liked at the church.

&uot;Everybody loved him. Around here, he was called the one-eyed marvel,&uot; Moffat said, referring to Holt’s famous black eye patch.

Adams County Sheriff Tommy Ferrell said Holt was one of the &uot;columns of our community.&uot;

&uot;This is a tragic, tragic thing,&uot; Ferrell said. &uot;Jeff ate, slept and thought Natchez. He was involved in causes too numerous to mention. I can still hear his booming baritone voice.&uot;

A native of Arkansas, Holt was active with the Natchez-Adams Chamber of Commerce and received the chamber’s Natchezian Award in 1995.

He volunteered for the United Way, the Stewpot, Arts in the Park and the Junior Auxiliary. Holt also ran the Natchez DARE committee for drug prevention.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete at Roller Citizens Funeral Home in Marianna, Ark.

Holt is survived by his wife, Lenore &uot;Babe&uot; Holt; three daughters and their husbands, Pamela Holt Copus and Mark Copus, Kim Holt Thompson and Cotton Thompson, Lisa Loewer and David Loewer; two sons and their wives, Geoffrey Holt, Jr. and Shellie Holt, and Douglas Gibson and wife Amy Gibson ; one brother, Jim Holt; one sister, Dixie Holt Lewis; and six grandchildren, Kathryn Loewer, Greg Gibson, Beck Gibson, Toby Thompson, Katie Thompson, and Stetson Copus.