Departures of note

Donnie Corker, known to Richmond as Dirtwoman, died in his sleep on September 26, 2017, at age 65, falling short of his stated goal to 'die at 90, onstage.' For two decades, he had been the human floral arrangement of the annual Hamaganza holiday rock 'n' roll charity benefit, paired with a revolving cast of Richmond politicians, luminaries, and journalists. His death was reported on the front page, top-of-the-fold, of the Richmond Times-Dispatch and featured nationally on NPR.

Corker grew up in the Oregon Hill neighborhood of Richmond. He was formerly a streetwalker, and his name stemmed from an incident of 'going to the bathroom in the back of a police car' after an arrest. He became locally known as a drag performer and street peddler, and later for his participation in Richmond food bank fundraisers such as Ham-a-Ganza. Style Weekly noted that Corker was also known for minor controversies, such as supposedly gate-crashing the inauguration of Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder. Corker claimed that he had a press pass obtained from a WANT station manager, but was still escorted off the property and arrested.

In May 2008, Corker announced his intentions to run for mayor of Richmond. In an interview with Richmond.com, he described his reasons as 'I think we need a change here in Richmond' and stated that he would like to improve city schools and reduce spending. However, he was unable to collect the necessary number of signatures to be included on the ballot and was taken out of the race.

Corker had a previous felony conviction due to a sexual encounter in a public park, from which he lost the right to vote. Shortly after Tim Kaine took office, Corker petitioned Kaine for clemency and the restoration of his right to vote, which was granted after the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth found that he had no repeat offenses or DUI convictions since the felony. He and his family—mother and sister—were frequent callers on the Elliot in the Morning show for several years, and he appeared as a special guest at station events. After his death, a memorial tribute ran on the morning of September 27, 2017, in celebration of his involvement with the show.