We didn’t just lose a man. 
We lost a frequency. A signal. A soul.

John Charles Duncan — known as Bubba, The Duckman, The Sound Whisperer — passed away after over 50 years of transforming the airwaves.

 His voice trained others. His touch tuned everything. But most of all, his spirit carried us.  He was the quiet architect behind Columbia’s radio culture — making sure everyone sounded right, even when he stayed invisible.  

He once joked: “Helping White Folks Sound Good for Over 50 Years!”  But he wasn’t joking.

That was the truth.

And that was Bubba.    

When It All Changed

March 2025. I got a call.

 Bubba was in a rehab facility in Mexico, MO. Couldn’t walk. Couldn’t stand. Barely able to speak.

He told me: “Call Lis.”

That was the day I met Lis — his beloved partner and 24/7 caregiver. We jumped in the car. We recorded the moment.

And I said: “We’re bringing him home. We’re going to advocate. We’re going to save our brother.”  

And we tried.

I paused my mayoral campaign.
Put down everything I could.

And we fought:  

• Insurance rejections 
• Medicaid confusion
  
• Lack of rehab access
  
• 24/7 caregiving burnout
  
• Poverty knocking on their door   
• Hospice assumptions

(He wasn’t on hospice — I told them myself: “Pack him up!  He’s coming home!

 And still — We lost him.

We didn’t finish his bucket list. Didn’t build the podcast studio. Didn’t finish the memoir. Didn’t archive his gear. Didn’t get him that new chair.

We tried. And now we try again — to carry what’s left.  

What We’re Raising Funds For:

We’re asking the community to help raise $15,000 to:

• Cover cremation & final memorial expenses
  
• Pay past-due utilities Lis has struggled with since his care began
  
• Preserve his vintage audio archive
  
• Stabilize Lis as she recovers from this profound loss
  
• Launch the first BubbaGPT to train young Black audio engineers on his legacy  
  

 Who He Leaves Behind:

• Loving Stalwart Partner: Lis McCarty
• Daughter: Kaitlyn Nicole Keefe
  
• Granddaughter: Riana Raine Keefe
  
• And a village of radio hosts, listeners, and souls he tuned 
  

John Charles Duncan

Born to James L. & Katherine L. Duncan 1947 – 2025

 How You Can Help:

• Donate what you can — $25, $50, or anything at all. Share this link with friends, DJs, radio lovers, journalists, engineers.  
•  Tag someone who believes in honoring Black elders properly We’re not burying a man. 
• We’re amplifying a frequency. 
•  Help us carry his signal forward to the Soul Age!  

https://gofund.me/81dfbfd5 or SoulUniverCity.com/Bubba

He never asked for credit.

Now we give it. Loudly. Rest easy, Bubba. We hear you now.

And we’ll never let the world forget your sound.  

#SupportLis #BubbaForever #TheDuckman #SoulExit #BlkHandSide #SevenDollas