William "Bill" Lucker was a driving force behind the scenes and an occasional on-air voice familiar to listeners of the radio program "Saturday Light Brigade."

Mr. Lucker, of Monroeville, died Wednesday of brain cancer. He was 46.

He was a project manager for Chester Engineers Inc., but devoted two decades to volunteering as a producer and co-host for "Saturday Light Brigade," a weekly family and children's show that airs on WRCT-FM and other public radio stations throughout the region.

Mr. Lucker had been a friend of program founder and host Larry Berger since junior high school. He joined the show in 1984, which at the time aired on WYEP-FM, as a producer and co-host.

Mr. Berger said Mr. Lucker's love of music, encyclopedic memory for facts and trivia, and keen attention to detail made him a valuable part of the show.

"People remember Bill for his laugh," Mr. Berger said. "He had this infectious on-air laugh that people just loved."

Mr. Lucker took a sabbatical from the show in 2003 in order to have more free time on the weekends and to take care of his father, the late Norman Lucker, who died in 2004. But he continued to serve on the show's advisory board.

Mr. Lucker, who enjoyed traveling and made several trips to Europe, was also interested in genealogy and did extensive research on his family, documenting more than 6,600 relatives.

He is survived by his mother, Devera Bloom Lucker of Wilkins, and sister, Roberta Kitchenoff of Wynnewood, Bucks County.

Services will be at 2 p.m. today at Ralph Schugar Chapel, 5509 Centre Ave., Shadyside, with visitation from 1 to 2 p.m. Interment will be at B'nai Israel Cemetery in Greensburg.

Memorial contributions can be made to Parkway Jewish Center, 300 Princeton Drive, Pittsburgh 15235 or to Forbes Hospice, 115 S. Neville St., Pittsburgh 15213.