Gordon “Country Boy Eddie” Burns was the beloved host of the “Country Boy Eddie Show,” a variety series that aired mornings in Birmingham on WBRC-TV/Channel 6, 1957-1994. He died this week at age 92. When I heard of his passing, my sadness was mixed with a feeling of gratitude for the Alabama legend who took me under his wing in April 1998, during one of my early reporting assignments for The Birmingham News.

Tammy Wynette had died, and my job was to cover her memorial service at the Ryman Auditorium In Nashville. I’d only been in Birmingham for a few months and knew only the most famous facts about Wynette. I’d never been to Nashville, and had never visited the Ryman. My editor suggested that I call Country Boy Eddie for help and info, as he’d given Wynette an early career boost with performances on his TV show.

I’d never spoken to Burns before — in fact, had just learned who he was — but he immediately offered to meet me at the Ryman before the memorial service and introduce me to a few folks for the story. He was as good as his word.

With the utmost kindness, Country Boy Eddie greeted me at the Ryman, took me backstage, introduced me to George Jones and Randy Travis, gave me great quotes and made sure I got what I needed for a story. I sat with him near the front of the auditorium during Wynette’s memorial service, two rows behind a sobbing Lorrie Morgan. And I was impressed by the way every country star we encountered seemed to know and respect Gordon Edward Burns.

Here’s the story I wrote for The Birmingham News that day. It was published on April 10, 1998, with the headline: “Remembering Tammy: Fans, friends, family say their goodbyes.”

NASHVILLE — Alabamians joined Music City’s elite Thursday afternoon to say goodbye to legendary country singer Tammy Wynette at the historic Ryman Auditorium.

Country Boy Eddie Burns, a Blount County resident who gave Ms. Wynette one of her first breaks on his early-morning variety show on WBRC/Channel 6, was among about 1,500 celebrities, friends, family members and fans attending a 4:30 p.m. memorial service at the Ryman, the former home of the Grand Ole Opry.

With white cowboy hat in hand, Burns, 67, shook hands with George Jones, Ms. Wynette’s most famous duet partner and ex-husband, when the two met backstage just before the service. In their own ways, both had loved Ms. Wynette, a down-to-earth housewife and mother who worked as a Midfield beautician before she became the First Lady of Country Music.

Ms. Wynette, 55, died Monday from a blood clot in her lungs while napping at her Nashville home. During her 30-year career she thrilled listeners with her twangy renditions of plaintive hits such as “Stand By Your Man,” “D-I-V-O-R-C-E,” “I Don’t Wanna Play House” and “‘Til I Get It Right.”

“It’s very sad,” Jones said of her death, shaking his head ruefully. But Jones recognized Burns immediately and greeted him warmly, saying he had grown up watching the Country Boy Eddie Show.

Burns, for his part, seemed quite at ease paying his respects among the crowd of ordinary folk who packed the Ryman’s balcony, and the select ranks of Nashville stars who wiped their eyes and embraced in reserved seats downstairs.

“Tammy had a style, and I think she had a soul for country music,” Burns said. “I was there at the beginning, and I wanted to be here for the end.”

He was far from alone in that wish. Many of the mourners at the 90-minute service had waited in a long line outside the Ryman since 8 a.m., according to an usher at the event.

Country’s glitterati arrived later, between 3 and 4 p.m., in dark limousines and fancy sedans that drove up to a side door. Most had also attended a private service at 1 p.m. at Judson Baptist Church, near Ms. Wynette’s home, said Sue Richards, a Muscle Shoals vocalist who toured in Ms. Wynette’s band from 1977-93 and was at the earlier service.

“We’re all going to miss her terribly,” Mrs. Richards said. “I haven’t eaten and can’t hold anything down since I heard she was gone. I’d like to put my arms around her and hug her, but I can’t.”

Similar sentiments were expressed by the celebrities who shared memories about Ms. Wynette and performed on the Ryman’s flower-filled stage. They included Dolly Parton, Wynonna and Naomi Judd, Randy Travis, the Oak Ridge Boys, Lorrie Morgan and J.D. Sumner. Loretta Lynn was planning to be there but was “too broke up” over Ms. Wynette’s passing to make it, Parton said.

“Tammy was family to me, like a little sister,” said Parton, who sang “Shine On,” a new tune she dedicated to Ms. Wynette. “My grandpa always used to say, ‘Don’t hide your talent under a bushel barrel,”’ Parton said. “Tammy shined then, she’s shinin’ now and she’ll shine forever more.”

An emotional Morgan, who called Ms. Wynette her idol, brought the crowd to its feet after singing “Stand By Your Man,” with Mrs. Richards as one of her back-up singers.

Then Morgan pulled George Richey, who married Ms. Wynette in 1978, up onto the stage into her arms and asked him to say a few words.

Visibly shaken, Richey said, “I was never away from her for 30 or 40 minutes, maybe, because that’s what I wanted to do, look after her.”

“We were alone on the couch when she left,” he added. “Just me and her.”

At the end of the service, the Rev. James Murray led the mourners in prayer.

“We know that this world would be a better place if we had more Tammys,” he said. “Thank you, Lord, for sharing her with us.”

Birmingham native Emmylou Harris, who spent time in the recording studio with Ms. Wynette, kept a low profile at Thursday’s service. Harris didn’t take the stage to express her feelings, but said before the memorial service that she had been singing and humming Ms. Wynette’s trademark numbers all week.

“She had such an amazing voice,” Harris said. “Nobody sounded like her. She made some phenomenal records and was a phenomenal person. She might have been a superstar, but she had to struggle out on the road, with a band, under some pretty bad conditions.

“I think she’s a role model for women; she worked hard and took care of her family. And her music is an amazing legacy.”

Burns, who helped Ms. Wynette to achieve that legacy, looked skyward shortly before he left the Ryman to send a final tip of the hat to his departed protege.

“We’ll probably meet again someday in God’s great kingdom,” Burns said. “Our loss is heaven’s gain.”