Taft was a beloved meteorologist for ABC7 for over 30 years, before he retired in 2018.

Known for his sense of humor, Taft’s coworkers spoke fondly about their memories of the meteorologist. Anchor Terrell Brown said his former coworkers were celebrating Taft’s life. “We spent the morning laughing already, celebrating Jerry,” Brown said on a broadcast, after playing an old silly promo with the weatherman.

His former station also shared clips of his former coworkers speaking about Taft from when he retired in 2018. “One of the things that makes him so approachable is the fact that he doesn’t take himself seriously, he’s taking what he does professionally seriously, never himself,” anchor Alan Krashesky said. “He mixes that credibility that he has as a meteorologist with a personality that’s just unmatched.”

“Jerry has no filter. If it’s on his brain, it comes out his mouth,” another former coworker said in the segment.

Some of Taft’s ABC7 colleagues like Diane Pathieu and Tracy Butler paid tribute to him on Twitter.

Prior to his career as a weatherman, Taft served as a Captain in the Air Force. He began his career in news, when he took a San Antonio weatherman for a flight, according to ABC7.

Taft is survived by his wife and four children.

Not just well liked by his coworkers, anchors, reporters, and other meteorologists spoke about Taft’s kindness and also offered tributes to Taft. CBS 2 Chicago meteorologist wrote that Taft was welcoming to his peers. “Always made our weather events so much more fun. He loved to invite tv mets from all other stations so we could get to know each other & share stories and laughs,” she tweeted.

Other local Chicagoans looked back on Taft’s weather reports fondly and spoke about how funny and entertaining he was, making them want to keep up with his forecasts. One person even shared an anecdote about writing a letter to Taft when he was in middle school, and the weatherman inviting him to the studio to spend a day with him.

Other local broadcasters spoke about how Taft was an inescapable and important presence in the windy city. In a lengthy tribute, a videographer wrote about his memories of watching his forecasts with his family, calling Taft a “class act.”

ABC7 Chicago did not respond to Newsweek’s emailed request for comment in time for publication.