Prudence "Prudy" DiMercurio (Dykstra)
1951 - 2011

DYKSTRA (Rockford) - Mrs. Prudence "Prudy" Dykstra, also professionally known as Allison Harte, age 58, passed away on Thursday, July 21, 2011. She was a graduate of Michigan State University. Prudy was the smooth-talking rock music disc jockey who began a blazing trail for women almost three decades ago. She opened the door for women and was prominently featured through the 80's at Classic Rock 97LAV and also was one of the original "Air Aces" of WLAV-FM (96.9) and later on was at the rock station, WBFX-FM (101.3). Throughout her career, local listeners followed "Allison Harte" when she moved to different radio spots. Prudy, as she was affectionately called by her family, loved taking motorcycle rides with her husband. She was a great cook and enjoyed using the fresh vegetables that she grew in her garden. Prudy is survived by her loving husband, Roger Dykstra; her daughter who was the "light of her life," Brittany Schneider; her step-sons, Jason Dykstra, and Nicholas Dykstra; father, John DiMercurio; mother, Iris DiMercurio; brothers and sisters, Margaret, John, Mary, and Marco; mother-in-law, Bernadine; brother-in-law and sisters-in-law, Char, Barb, Gary and Sue; and many nieces and nephews. The Mass of Christian Burial for Prudy will be offered on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Parnell. Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider the charity of one's choice. Relatives and friends may meet with the family at the Pederson Funeral Home on Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m. and on Monday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Pederson Funeral Home, Rockford.

Most of the world knew her as Allison Harte. She died two days after her husband, Roger Dykstra, pulled her from the bottom of the in-ground pool at their Rockford home. Prudy was placed into a medically induced coma. Her prognosis was not good and her family removed her from life support. She died a short time after.

WBFX-FM (101.3) The Fox, the rock radio station that was Harte’s final on-air home, reported her fans had posted numerous condolence messages on its Facebook.

From Phoenix, Ariz., Grand Rapids-area native Amy Shimmell Allen, posted, “What a great lady. She will be missed.”

One of the original “Air Aces” of WLAV-FM (96.9), Harte was featured prominently on Grand Rapids radio through the 1980s, most of those years as the nighttime on-air personality. Harte, a native of Saginaw, is probably best remembered for her tenure at Classic Rock 97LAV, where she worked for nearly 10 years from 1981 to 1991 and then left for a time, returning in 1992.

When Harte left the business in May 2007, she said she was leaving the door open to return to radio. “I don’t say ‘goodbye,’ rather, ‘talk to you later’,” she said.