Donna Gregory, a veteran reporter from North Carolina, died after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in April, WWAY 3 reported Wednesday, Nov. 20.
“It is with deep sadness that we share the heartbreaking news of the loss of our beloved veteran news anchor, Donna Gregory,” the network said in a statement. She was “surrounded by her loved ones” when she died a day earlier, the paper said.
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Gregory shared her journey with cancer with viewers. In April, she released a “special message” to WWAY 3, saying she learned of her cancer diagnosis after a biopsy after “months of trying to figure out what was causing the recurring cough, shortness of breath, fatigue and weight loss.”
Donna Gregory.
Donna Gregory/Facebook
I will be off the air for a while so that I can undergo the treatment protocol that the doctors have created. My plan is to be stronger and healthier every day, and prayers always help,” she wrote and added, “There is a lot of beauty in all of this” while thanking her “angels disguised as friends” and family.
Gregory “faced her illness with grace and determination, undergoing immunotherapy and chemotherapy while remaining a beacon of hope and inspiration,” WWAY 3 told Wednesday.
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During her decades-long career, she was a mentor to budding journalists and was a friend to many in the newsroom. She joined WWAY 3 in 2019 to temporarily fill in for host Randy Aldridge who was diagnosed with cancer. Her position later became permanent.
“Her passing leaves a void that words alone cannot fill,” WWAY 3 wrote, noting that a tribute to her legacy will be held at a later date.
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Donna Gregory.
Donna Gregory/Facebook
“For now, we mourn her loss and extend our deepest condolences to her family, friends and all whose lives she touched. Donna Gregory will be greatly missed,” WWAY 3 concluded.
Gregory’s children acknowledged that the community may have known her for reporting, but “to her children, she was much more than the accomplishments listed in her career,” they wrote in a Facebook post.
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“She was the heart of every room she walked into, always making everyone feel welcome and relaxed. She could make a meal out of anything she found in the fridge, turning ordinary moments into something special.”
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Gregory’s children remembered their mom’s favorite traits, such as that “Her loud booing at sporting events could rival any cheerleader” and that she “somehow mastered folding a fitted sheet.”
Noting her “unwavering positivity”, her loved ones added: “We always knew we could count on her to drop everything for us, answer every question and ground us in her strong faith and deep love for Jesus.”
She is survived by her children, Sam, Callan, Avery and Everett, as well as her grandchildren, Hayes and Coley; daughter-in-law, Amanda, and son-in-law, Shane.
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Source: HIS Education