Sad news to report today... a co-worker of mine passed away after battling cancer for several years. Fred Fife, or Fred Powers as he was known on TV, fought courageously, but finally went to a better place at 2pm today.
Mauri and I made it twice over the weekend to visit him in hospice care on our way to and from Macon. It was so nice to meet his mom, dad, sisters, and other relatives. He was truly a blessed person as were we for having known him. We were actually on the way to visit again when we got the phone call saying he had passed.
Fred was actually hired when I was an intern at the station. I remember the memo that was sent to announce his hiring. He was one of a handful of people still there a decade later when I made it to Atlanta. It was so nice to actually get to work with him for my first year there before he got sick. His work ethic and energy were contagious. He used to make Mauri run around the newsroom in his newsroom intros and tags to stories on the weekends so it looked 'busy' and like a real newsroom! :-)
He was a real newsman. He was known for being a 'human pinata' because he often put himself into the story by being tasered, attacked by dogs, or set on fire!
Here is a link to his hospice webpage.
Here is a link to the story that aired today at 4pm.
Fred, you will be missed.
--Chris
1 comment:
So sad -- thanks for letting us know. :(
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