PETER JENNINGS 1938-2005

ABC News anchor Peter Jennings died of lung cancer on Sunday night.
He was 67. On April 5, Jennings announced he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

He is survived by his wife, Kayce Freed, his two children, Elizabeth, 25, and Christopher, 23, and his sister, Sarah Jennings.

"Peter died with his family around him, without pain and in peace. He knew he'd lived a good life," his wife and children said in a statement.

In announcing Jennings' death to his ABC colleagues, News President David Westin wrote:

"For four decades, Peter has been our colleague, our friend, and our leader in so many ways. None of us will be the same without him.

"As you all know, Peter learned only this spring that the health problem he'd been struggling with was lung cancer. With Kayce, he moved straight into an aggressive chemotherapy treatment. He knew that it was an uphill struggle. But he faced it with realism, courage, and a firm hope that he would be one of the fortunate ones. In the end, he was not.

"We will have many opportunities in the coming hours and days to remember Peter for all that he meant to us all. It cannot be overstated or captured in words alone. But for the moment, the finest tribute we can give is to continue to do the work he loved so much and inspired us to do."

I was never a regular viewer of ABC's World News Tonight; but I did see a good deal of his reporting throughout the years.

As one of the Big Three news anchors, Jennings was part of American popular culture.

There were times, some quite notable, when his politics colored his presentation of the facts. On occasion, he did some unfortunate editorializing at inappropriate times, in my opinion.

That aside, Jennings was a giant in the world of broadcast news. Although he was a high school dropout, his talent and hard work took him to the top of the ladder in his field and into the coveted anchor spot.

One can't help but be impressed by his credentials and his body of work.

My fondest memory of Peter Jennings is his marathon broadcast of the world's millennium celebrations.

He walked us around the globe as different nations observed the moment when 1999 became history and 2000 opened to the future.

Jennings was a wonderful host. I remember waking in the pre-dawn hours and flipping on the TV to make sure the Y2K doomsday scenarios weren't playing out. Once I was reassured by Jennings, I drifted off back to sleep. Upon getting up in the morning, I resumed watching Jennings bring us New Year festivites from everywhere.

I remember going out to run last minute errands to prepare for our family's celebration. Although I taped the entire broadcast, I still wanted to see as much of it live as I could. I recall that I especially wanted to see Paris ring in the New Year. I did.

I also remember how concerned I was when 2000 was about to reach the east coast. Being in the central time zone, we'd get early warning of any Y2K issues in the U.S. Even though no major problems had occured elsewhere around the world, I was still jittery. I also feared a terrorist attack. My heart was racing watching the coverage from Times Square as the countdown began.

By that time, Peter Jennings had been on the air for nearly twenty hours! I think I was much less composed and coherent than he was as midnight approached.

Overall, he did a truly remarkable job.

There is so much about Peter Jennings' life to celebrate; but today, I join many, many Americans in mourning his death.

One more thing--

Speaking as someone who has lost a loved one to lung cancer:
DON'T SMOKE!