Terry Abdo, 54, was known as a man with convictions, a man of change, an advocate of beach rights, and a loving father, say family and friends. Tje former AM radio talk show host and "the single most misunderstood man in Volusia County." Abdo died Monday night in West Palm Beach of complications from diabetes, said friend Jerry Kenny.

Abdo was the past president of Sons of the Beach and a former radio talk-show host in Daytona Beach. He is known for his passionate and outspoken ways.

"He was like a box of chocolate; you never knew what you were gonna get. He was a completely loose cannon on attack," said Kenney former co-host of the Terry and Jerry Show on WELE 1380 and WPUL 1590, in trying to describe his friend of 15 years. "People did not understand him. Terry was like a loveable fuzzball and you had to know how to deal with him."

Kenney worked with Abdo on the radio talk show for two years. He said Abdo made the show fun and interesting.

"He really did his homework on certain issues involving the school system and knew how to expose corruption in every corner," Kenny said.

Abdo ran for District 3 of the Volusia County Council in 1994. He strongly opposed the beach ramp toll and favored assigning sheriff's deputies to paatrol the beach.

"He was a very active call-in, talk-show political analyst," said Roland Via, the host hot and executive producer of Roland Via Live in Ormond Beach. "He was involved with many local issues at every level of government, including local counties and school boards."

Via a Holly hill city commissioner, knew Abdo for 14 years.

"He didn't just talk about it; he did something about it," Via said. "His famous quote was democracy is not a spectator sport."

Survivors include a daughter, Diana, Port Orange, and two sisters, Victoria, West Palm Beach, and Diane Kimmel, Kansas.