Gwen Iffil Dead at 61

She passed away after a several months' fight with cancer.

She was 61.

She was absent from the PBS election coverage because of her battle and she passed peacefully surrounded by friends and family.

"Gwen was a standard bearer for courage, fairness and integrity in an industry going through seismic change. She was a mentor to so many across the industry and her professionalism was respected across the political spectrum. She was a journalist's journalist and set an example for all around her," said PBS NewsHour executive producer Sara Just, in a statement. "So many people in the audience felt that they knew and adored her. She had a tremendous combination of warmth and authority. She was stopped on the street routinely by people who just wanted to give her a hug and considered her a friend after years of seeing her on TV. We will forever miss her terribly."

On Wednesday, Ifill was set to receive the 2016 John Chancellor Award from Columbia University. A spokesperson for the university did not immediately have a comment.

Ifill, who was born in New York, graduated from Simmons College, a women’s college located in Boston, in 1977, before beginning her career at the Boston Herald-American. She held reporting positions at the Baltimore Evening Sun, The Washington Post, The New York Times and NBC before becoming a moderator of PBS’s “Washington Week in Review” in 1999.

She had a good life and career, and ending a fight with cancer in this way isn't what anyone would choose for themselves, but it sound like she went down fighting and stepped out gracefully.

R.I.P. Gwen Iffil.

a reply to: ketsuko

She was a good woman from what I've been reading. I hope she finds peace.

She probably gave up fighting when Trump won.

a reply to: ketsuko

A Great Journalist, she will be missed.

a reply to: ketsuko

I watch either PBS or BBC as the psychic onslaught of the elections was too much.

Shame we lost another journalist. Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, and Gwen Iffil in one year. Sad news indeed.

She seemed to be authentic and I trusted her. I will toast a silent one at the pub later this evening for her.

originally posted by: TEOTWAWKIAIFF
a reply to: ketsuko

I watch either PBS or BBC as the psychic onslaught of the elections was too much.

Shame we lost another journalist. Morley Safer, Ed Bradley, and Gwen Iffil in one year. Sad news indeed.

Wut?!? I'd say it was entirely too much. Ed Bradley has been dead for a good decade...yep, Wiki has him dead in 2006 just over 10 years ago today.

a reply to: BeefNoMeat

OK! My idiocy! Let me see if I am still in the edit mode time frame.

Where did I leave my keys?...

[Pfwew, thanks Beef for pointing that out! ]

Aw, that's terrible.