It was with great sadness that on June 9, 2005 we announced the passing of our friend and colleague MaryEllen Locher.

As many of you already know, MaryEllen had been through three battles with cancer.

For 20 years, Mel shared her infectious smile, charisma and professionalism with the NewsChannel 9 family and you.

MaryEllen passed at her home Thursday (June 9, 2005) at the age of 45... surrounded by her family.

MaryEllen’s death came just two days after the announcement of her retirement from WTVC NewsChannel 9 after almost 20 years as reporter, then anchor-reporter.

At the time NewsChannel 9 Genneral Manager Mike Costa said, "today is a sad day. The NewsChannel 9 family has lost a loved associate and the Tennessee Valley has lost a true icon and good person. We have to remember that David and Alex have said goodbye to a loving wife and mother. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and all of MaryEllen’s family and close friends.”

During her career at NewsChannel 9, the station benefited greatly from her hard work and success. MaryEllen won awards for Best Newscast, Best News Team, and Best News Series Reporter by the Tennessee Associated Press. Viewers responded by keeping NewsChannel 9’s newscasts top rated.

MaryEllen had battled cancer since its first occurrence in 1989. Her personal experiences with the disease greatly influenced her civic commitments. She founded the not for profit Hats from the Heart program, giving free hats to cancer patients onsite at cancer treatment centers. MaryEllen also founded Children of Breast Cancer Foundation (link below). This non-profit organization provides endowment money to public colleges and universities for children who have lost a mother to breast cancer.

MaryEllen most recently was honored by Memorial Hospital with the naming of their Breast Cancer Center as The MaryEllen Locher Breast Center at Memorial. The goal of the center, according to Memorial Hospital, is to streamline the patient’s experience with the best care possible as expeditiously as possible. It will combine the latest in technological and clinical advances with an emphasis on the whole person - body, mind and spirit. Construction of the center is set to begin no later than July 2006.