Wilbur the Pig has passed away as a result of cancer. The news from John L. Batey at Batey Farms in the Blackman Community.

Wilbur was surrounded by family members who were stroking and comforting him when he passed on Thursday (1/31/2019).

Wilbur was born May 31, 2006 at the Batey Farm in the Blackman Community, and lived for about 12-years and 7-month. That's around 86 human years.

Now, let's go back to May 31, 2018, when Wilbur the Pig celebrated his 12th birthday, and WGNS was there at the Batey Farm in the Blackman Community.

PREVIOUS STORY ON THE CELEBRATION OF WILBUR'S 12TH BIRTHDAY

Back in January, 1947, WGNS started honoring listeners who are celebrating birthdays. Over the past 71+ years, Murfreesboro's first radio station has made the award to approximately 15-thousand individuals.

Each weekday the locally focused Good Neighbor Station gives away a milkshake of the recipient's choice from the Old Fashioned Soda Shoppe at Reeves Sain Drugstore.

Up until today (May 28, 2018), all of the recipients have been genus homo sapiens. A major change was made on Memorial Day, 2018 with the birthday winner being from the genus sus.

Reeves Sain Drugstore's Dr. Jason Greene was at Batey Farms on Memorial Day for this history-making first ever BIRTHDAY SHAKE award.

Memorial Day's WGNS' "Birthday Shake" goes to Wilbur the pig!

John L. Batey told Dr. Greene that Wilbur had a fancy for buttermilk. Reeves Sain has a passion to please, and they came-up with a buttermilk shake.

Now that this almost half-ton porker's days on the silver screen are over, he still continues to thoroughly enjoy visits from fans as well as being a pampered movie star.

The Memorial Day Birthday Shake recipient is Murfreesboro's well-known celebrity native who stared in the 2006 best family movie "Charlotte's Web".

Talent hunters were scouring the nation in search of the right star, and on Memorial Day, 2006, they received word that a uniquely adorable piglet had just been born on Batey Farms on Baker Road near Murfreesboro.

As John L. noted, "The rest is history."

And now, a dozen years later, Wilbur weighs in at a robust 700 pounds and lives the life of the rich and famous, still on the Batey farm.

The award winning 8th generation pork producer, John L. Batey said, "Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that I would own a pig for a dozen years. It goes against our family's tradition."

He proudly stated, "Batey Farms raises quality Yorkshire, Hampshire, and Duroc hogs. Our animals are grain fed with no added hormones or antibiotics. We offer several products for sale including bacon, sausage, bratwurst, pork chops and ribs."

WGNS assured the public that this is strictly a one-day break from the historical 71-year run of honoring birthdays of local listeners, and that on Tuesday (5/29/2018) morning, the radio station will return to giving a Reeves Sain' award winning Birthday Shake to people.

Now, here's a wonderful story about Wilbur The Pig