Home › Forums › Open Discussion › R.I.P. Kathi Goertzen
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August 13, 2012 at 9:17 pm #604388
JiggersMemberA very sad day for Seattle….
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018911694_goertzen14m.html
August 13, 2012 at 10:06 pm #766898
luckymom30ParticipantTerribly sad news.
August 13, 2012 at 10:09 pm #766899
WSBKeymasterThank you for starting a thread, Jig, I was going to start one …posted something on the WSB Facebook page and thought about the home page here, but really, everybody else has it covered.
We wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been hired by KOMO in 1991 and moved up here to be 11 pm producer for Kathi, Dan Lewis, Steve Pool, and then-sports anchor Bruce King. I worked with her for eight years, and she was one of the best anchors I ever worked with … anchors can be the joys or banes of a producer’s existence; you cannot work well without each other (and sometimes it’s painfully obvious you cannot work well WITH each other). Kathi was smart, insightful, compassionate, funny, awesome to work with. Part of my job was to lead election coverage every year, both preparing for it and being the booth producer, and so much of that was live, on the fly, anchors dependent on the producer/EP to tell them in their ear – while they’re talking about something else! – where they’re going next, what they’re talking about next. No scripts. She and Dan were an amazing team.
Months before I left KOMO, Kathi told us all about her initial diagnosis. She and I went out on a story together right about that time that I will never forget because of how the backstory achingly interfaced with the story itself … at that same time, my mother had just been diagnosed with the cancer that killed her the next year, and with all that as a backdrop, Kathi and I went out on deadline to interview John Stanford, the popular then-Seattle School superintendent, about a relapse of the leukemia that took him, too soon, not long afterward.
Her honesty and bravery in going public with so many aspects of her fight, including what the nerve damage did to her face, was an inspiration and example to so many. Just be honest. There’s no point in hiding things.
I so wish, as she had wished in a Times story earlier this year, she had been able to hold on till someone could find a cure.
You can donate to the research foundation her family set up some time back. I plan to.
Tracy
August 13, 2012 at 10:30 pm #766900
miwsParticipantSuch sad news.
She was an incredible human being.
Condolences to her family, KOMO family, and friends.
TR, thanks for sharing your story…
Mike
August 13, 2012 at 10:50 pm #766901
JiggersMemberI remember here being away on the air for some time years ago and didn’t realize why. I battle chronic pain everyday myself. But she had a ton of courage to get back to work and after her first few surgeries it looked like she didn’t miss a beat. She reached out to me in a different way like with probably thousands of viewers over the years. She wasn’t going to go down without fighting.
August 13, 2012 at 11:10 pm #766902
JanSParticipantjiggers…when I think of Kathi Goertzen, I think of resilience. She was stretched much more than us, and seemed to come back each time> I can only be half as strong as she was, and it will all be worth it. I share her philosophy that she refused to allow her illness to define her. I will continue to try to get inspiration from that,focus on the positive…
August 13, 2012 at 11:18 pm #766903
BLhappypetsParticipantShe really was amazing. My youngest brother has autism, and is absolutely enamored by the local news anchors. When our friend who was an anchor arranged a visit and gift for my brother, Kathi was no longer on air, but made sure to sign a personalized photo for my brother, and he cherishes it!
It’s great to hear about her foundation. My father-in-law died from benign brain tumors a few years back after a 10 year battle. She was such a great example of grace and determination, she will be very missed.
August 13, 2012 at 11:25 pm #766904
365StairsParticipantFantastic Seattle News Anchor! The more I think about it now…it was just comforting to have the news on in the background…she could soften even the most wicked story…but tell it like it was.
News at 11 in Heaven just got more interesting…
August 13, 2012 at 11:25 pm #766905
JiggersMemberI bet her Euolgy is going to be something else with all the people she had touched over the years…
August 14, 2012 at 7:54 am #766906
HMC RichParticipantShe was my favorite anchor. I never knew her but my wife briefly did. Any viewer could tell she had a heart of Gold. Thank You Kathi.
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