The Central Texas television station KCEN team mourned one of their own live on-air Oct. 30 and announced the death of co-anchor Kris Radcliffe.
Co-anchor Lindsay Liepman of KCEN, an NBC affiliate in Temple, Texas, became visibly emotional as she shared during the Wednesday newscast that Radcliffe “died unexpectedly.” He was 51.
“Kris sat in the chair right beside me and he was the best. He was simply the best,” Liepman said. “Funny, genuine and smart. I looked forward to working with Kris every single night and I think you all could tell at home. We had fun here. Kris loved this community and never took his role for granted.”
Liepman said that if she had known Tuesday was going to be their last newscast together, “I would have ignored the cues to wrap from our producers and just laughed a little longer.”
Holding back tears, Liepman said she would have liked to thank him for everything that he taught her — “but that is not how life works,” she said.
She reminisced about their time off-screen and extended her condolences to his family, including Radcliffe’s wife, daughters and grandchildren, as well as his sister.
At one point Liepman almost broke down when sharing that others would be stepping in to help deliver that night’s broadcast.
“I simply cannot get through the newscast tonight and I hope you understand,” she said.
She continued by saying Radcliffe’s death “is a true loss for our community.” He was then honored with a video montage about his life and mentorship at the news station.
In a message to Today.com, Liepman said, “Announcing his death to our viewers was the hardest day of my career and I’ve had to do a lot of hard things. I didn’t want our viewers to hear the news from anyone else. He would have done the same for me.”
She added that her colleague and friend “was so easy to love. I’ve worked with a lot of co-anchors and he was truly a top market anchor in a small town. He chose to live in Waco for his family and from the minute I met him we clicked. We had each other’s backs on and off air. I could really be myself around him and I know he felt the same.”
“There’s a special bond between people in this business. Our newsroom is left with a vast hole. And that shows you how big of an impact he made. More than anything I will remember all the times he made me laugh even on my worst days,” Liepman added. “And that’s the thing. As a news anchor you can’t let your bad days show. He was our rock and I leaned on him.”
Calling him “an excellent journalist,” she said that they were just nominated for a regional Emmy for their coverage of a tornado that hit their town. “I hope he knows on the worst days he made our community feel safe, seen and heard,” she concluded.
Radcliffe, who served as the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. anchor, had worked at KCEN for 22 years, according to the station. He was “blessed to have an amazing wife” as well as two daughters, a grandson and a granddaughter. A cause of death was not shared at the time.
Other journalists at the station also paid tribute to Radcliffe on social media.
Baylee Bates, who wrote she “had the privilege of being one of Kris’ co-anchors,” shared a slideshow filled with photos of their time together.
Reporter and anchor Sydney Dishon wrote that she was “at a loss for words.”
“Kris, I’ll miss all your advice you gave helping me navigate life in my early 20’s. I will treasure your words forever,” she wrote, in part. “I still can’t believe this is real. The newsroom won’t be the same without you. You made KCEN feel like home.”
A statement on behalf of Radcliffe’s wife, Eden Radcliffe, was shared on her Facebook profile, thanking people for their “tremendous outpouring of love.”
“On behalf of my sister, she wanted me to relay to you our profound thanks for the tremendous outpouring of love and support for her, their girls, and families,” Eden Radcliffe’s sister, Libby, wrote. “She’s receiving and reading your texts and posts but it’s simply too difficult to respond at this time.”
Kris Radcliffe began his decadeslong career with KCEN in 2002, starting as a sports anchor. He then became the morning anchor for Texas Today, where he held the position for nine years before transitioning into the evening anchor role.