Wendy Rieger Death, Obituary – Wendy Rieger, longtime News4 anchor and reporter has reportedly passed away at the age of 65 on Saturday after a courageous battle with Glioblastoma. Wendy relocated to Washington, DC in order to attend classes at American University, which is located in Northwest D.C.
Her robust and euphonic voice was often heard over the airways at WAMU and WTOP, the radio and television stations in the Washington, D.C. area where she first began her career in the broadcasting industry. When Wendy started working at News4, it was instantly obvious to everyone there that she belonged in front of the camera. This was the first thing that anyone noticed about her.
You may remember Wendy’s unique coverage of hurricanes all down the East Coast. She went from Maine to Florida. In addition to that, she covered events such as the Olympics in Brazil, a royal wedding in England, and she covered major events all the way from New Zealand to Vietnam.
And for the past two decades, she has been that lively and interesting friend to catch up with every day at five o’clock. After working with Susan Kidd as her first partner at the front desk, she went on to spend the next 14 years in a relationship with the man she calls “Handly.”
The incredible chemistry that Wendy and Jim Handly had from the very beginning is what made their relationship so special. The laughter of the two of them could be clearly heard by the News4 team from the makeup area all the way through to the newsroom. Not only was Wendy an upbeat and gregarious person, but she also possessed a significant amount of innate intelligence.
The producers have complete faith in Wendy’s ability to improvise when faced with challenging international news or a major political problem. She was one of the very first television journalists to constantly discuss issues relating to the environment, and she did it by way of her groundbreaking series dubbed “Going Green.”
The last piece of writing that Wendy created was a heartfelt tribute to our dear friend and former colleague Joe Krebs. Due to the fact that she wasn’t feeling well, she decided against attending his burial during that week.
It was discovered that she suffered from a tumor on her brain, which was the root of all of her issues. The diagnosis was made available to Wendy not quite a quarter of a year after she had undergone open-heart surgery. Wendy felt it was important for the audience of News4 to know the specifics of her operation so that she could encourage viewers to pay attention to any symptoms they might be experiencing.
Throughout it all, both on and off camera, Wendy demonstrated to all of us exactly what kind of strength she possessed. As she signed off the air after 33 years in the business, we saw our brave, bright, innovative, and curious friend look back with pride and forward with hope. She had been in the industry for a very long time.