Longtime TV anchorwoman Kathi Goertzen dies after battle with tumors

My goal was to post stories mostly local to the Federal Way area however this has been a story that anytime you watched the news, you knew about Kathi Goertzen. She was a great face to watch to broadcast the news. But she was only 54 when she passed. She got cancer at the age of 40 and at the time had a 3 year old daughter. Could you imagine the moment you are told you have cancer and realize you have a 3 year old? How long or how much of that child's life would you predict you'd be able to live to see? It's absolutely incredible how strong she must have been to continue to fight every single day.   

 

Longtime TV anchorwoman Kathi Goertzen dies after battle with tumors

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2018911694_goertzen14m.html?prmid=obinsource

Seattle, WA - August 13th, 2012

Kathi Goertzen, one of the most recognized and trusted anchors in local TV news for a generation, died Monday after a 14-year struggle with recurring brain tumors.
She was hospitalized late last week with benign but aggressively persistent tumors that had already attacked her elegant face and voice before finally leaving her unable to breathe on her own.

In her final days, she was visited bedside by her large Seattle family, including two daughters, her sisters, father, pastor and colleagues at KOMO-TV. She was 54.
Ms. Goertzen, a Seattle native, anchored KOMO newscasts for nearly three decades. She first arrived at the station as a fresh-out-of-college intern in 1979, then joined with anchorman Dan Lewis on Sept. 21, 1987, forming a team that would last more than 20 years.

Indicative of her accessible approach to her local celebrity, Ms. Goertzen publicly aired her declining health. In a 2011 news story, she faced full camera to show nerve damage on the left side of her face that left her unable to smile. "I'm not one to hide," she said.

When Ms. Goertzen went into intensive care late last week, colleagues at KOMO asked for prayers of support. Within a day, thousands of people tweeted their prayers, and thousands more commented on her Facebook page.

When in public, Lewis said, "the two words I hear more than almost any other: 'How's Kathi?' "

"So many people have come to learn what a strong brave woman she is, what a fighter she is," said Lewis, choking up. "People have really come to admire that, and they respond."

Ms. Goertzen maintained an outsized civic profile with volunteer work, not always publicized, for youth-serving nonprofits. She spoke for the past 24 years at annual luncheons for the YWCA of Seattle, King and Snohomish counties, and led a $43 million capital campaign as board president for the organization.

Ms. Goertzen was "a complete person," said longtime KOMO weatherman Steve Pool.
"She has this aura, this ethos that permeates the newsroom," said Pool. "There is an elegant class about Kathi that goes along with her undeniable ability to do what she does on a daily basis."

Kathryn L. Goertzen grew up in Seattle, the second-oldest of Irma and Don Goertzen's four daughters. Irma Goertzen, a nurse, was administrator of the University of Washington Medical Center, the first woman in the country to run a major teaching school. She instilled civic duty into her daughters, said Pool.

"If you met her mother, you'd understand Kathi," Pool said.

Ms. Goertzen swam at the now-closed Queen Anne High School, then graduated from Washington State University, and remained a vocal Cougar fan in this Husky town.
Arriving at KOMO at the age of 22, Ms. Goertzen developed a reputation as a dogged but compassionate reporter. She first anchored a broadcast in 1982, and she quickly
came to own an anchor chair.

She infused reports with humor, quipping after a feature on a mud-caked rhino that had just been introduced to a mate, "That one guy might improve his chances if he'd take a bath."

Eric Johnson, a longtime KOMO reporter and anchor, said Ms. Goertzen had a unique, subtle way of telling viewers "that she's one of us."

"She was as comfortable having tea with the queen as she would be in the corner saloon, BS-ing with blue-collar workers," said Johnson. "She was comfortable in her own skin, and people were drawn to that. She was magnetic in that way."

Ms. Goertzen won five Emmy Awards and one Edward R. Murrow award, priding herself on her ability to carry a breaking-news broadcast without a script.

"Kathi had a way of making people feel at ease," said KOMO news director Holly Gauntt. "She would disarm them because she's so down to earth and so funny."

Ms. Goertzen's long collaboration with Lewis, Pool and Johnson led to shared family vacations at Suncadia, Lake Quinault Lodge, Hawaii and elsewhere.

Ms. Goertzen met her husband, KOMO account executive Rick Jewett, in the late 1980s while he was a freelance news photographer. Ms. Goertzen had a daughter, Alexa, now 23, from a previous marriage, and a 17-year-old daughter, Andrea, with Jewett.

Ms. Goertzen proudly played recordings of Alexa's singing or videos of Andrea's softball games on her iPhone for colleagues. In a Seattle Times story that appeared last Mother's Day, Ms. Goertzen said she was trying to "hang on for long enough" to find a cure for her tumors.

"We try to keep those thoughts out of our heads," Andrea Jewett said.

Ms. Goertzen endured her first surgery to remove a brain tumor, a rare type of meningioma, in 1998 after she experienced hearing loss. Eight subsequent surgeries could never completely remove the growth. Repeated rounds of radiation and experimental treatments in Europe couldn't, either.

She continued working even after giving up the anchor chair, and kept viewers updated on her health, including the surprisingly candid images of her facial disfigurement. "I've never hidden this whole experience of what happened to me," said Ms. Goertzen in a 2011 KOMO story. "Now I'm showing it off."

Before her ninth surgery in February, Ms. Goertzen returned to the newsroom for hugs and pictures with the staff. "It was almost as if people had an inkling that she wouldn't be able to come back again," said Johnson.

Ms. Goertzen is survived by her husband, Rick Jewett, two daughters, Alexa Jarvis and Andrea Jewett, and her mother and father, Irma and Don Goertzen, all of Seattle.

'I didn't expect to have a rock through my windshield on I-5'

This would just be terrifying and there's almost nothing you can do to stop it!


'I didn't expect to have a rock through my windshield on I-5'

SEATTLE, Wash – July 21st 2012

SEATTLE - A family of four that survived a chunk of freeway flying through their windshield on Interstate 5 is speaking out after the terrifying experience.

The frightening accident happened Saturday night in the southbound lanes of I-5, around Northeast 80th Street in Seattle.

A mom and dad and their kids were driving down the freeway just like thousands of cars do every day when a piece of road the size of a brick came flying right through their windshield.

Now they're surprised they're still here to talk about it.

"The rock hit me so hard in the chest, it literally took my breath away" says Henry Jessop, who was in the passenger seat.

His son Ian and his daughter were in the back seat, and his wife was behind the wheel.

Jessop was hit in the chest and jaw. The special forces officer thought it was a gunshot - dust and glass filled the inside of their Volvo after the chunk of concrete shattered the windshield.

"Every time we took a breath you could feel glass going down your throat," he says.

Jessop is in a lot of pain - he has stitches on his chin and inside his mouth, along with a severely bruised jaw and chest.

And he worries about the emotional trauma to his family.

"Me getting into an accident is one thing - but to have your family there also, and to witness suffering from your loved ones, is something that hurts me more than anything," he says.

The state trooper who responded told him a car must have kicked up a loose chunk of highway, and sent it flying into the Jessop's Volvo.

Henry's sister-in-law is still upset.

"To lose my sister, if that had happened, would have been earth-shattering," she says. "This is an innocent family driving down the highway. How could that happen to them?"

Jessop hopes what happened creates awareness about how important it is for transportation crews to keep highways maintained.

"I expect to be wounded in combat. I didn't expect to have a rock come through my windshield on I-5 in Seattle of all places."

An accident can happen so instantly and no one would ever suspect something like this to happen to them. Such a sad story. It was made more real when a friend of ours talked to us about Wayde and the family because he'd worked with him at school. It doesn't take much and though we never think we'll have to bury our children, I hope everyone takes the time and the effort to make sure they have life insurance on their kids. In the long run, it truly ends up paying for itself.

8-year-old hit by car, killed while riding a bike

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. —  July 22^nd 2012

Family members set up a memorial with candles, flowers, and stuffed animals at 8-year-old Wayde Rodriguez-Fale's home, a block away from where he was hit by a car Sunday night.

 Wayde was riding his bicycle in Federal Way around 7:45 p.m. when he was hit by a vehicle on SW 333 Street.

 He was transported to Harborview Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead. 

 He was not wearing a helmet.

 Police said a drug recognition expert examined the driver and determined that there were no signs of impairment or negligent driving.

 With two parks nearby and a lot of kids playing in the neighborhood, the community has been fighting to get speed bumps put into the neighborhood.

 "People need to care more about children's safety in residential areas.  People just need to be more aware," said Wayde's mother, Charleyne Fale.

 Fale said it was daylight when her son was hit.

 Wayde's family members say they hope people will learn from this accident and drivers will slow down in residential areas.

CORRECTION: It had orginally been reported that the boy was hit at 10 p.m. The boy was struck at 7:45 p.m.

Hundreds mourn climber Luke Gullberg, of Des Moines

Luke Gullberg was my husband's best friend. He was the best man in our wedding. Luke was outgoing and made everyone around him feel like they were important. He had the brightest smile. These are some of the things I will always remember about Luke and when my husband and I start to have kids, our son's name will be Luke.


Hundreds mourn climber Luke Gullberg, of Des Moines
Des Moines, Wash – December 12, 2009


On Sunday afternoon, hundreds of friends and family packed into the Pacific Middle School gymnasium in Des Moines to remember 26-year-old Luke Gullberg, whose body was found Dec. 12 on Reid Glacier of Mount Hood after he failed to return from a climb of a steep route begun the previous day.

In his passion for climbing, Luke Gullberg helped lead dozens of men and women up the signature peaks of the Pacific Northwest. "See you at the top," was his trademark line that he repeated in fair weather and foul in the videos he made of his ascents of Mount Rainier, Mount Baker and other mountains.

On Sunday afternoon, hundreds of friends and family packed into the Pacific Middle School gymnasium in Des Moines to remember the 26-year-old Gullberg, whose body was found Dec. 12 on Reid Glacier of Mount Hood after he failed to return from a climb of a steep route begun the previous day. They spoke of a young man with a keen sense of humor and an infectious enthusiasm for life who relished the fellowship forged through mountaineering.

Also on this climb were Katie Nolan, a 29-year-old native of Touchet, Walla Walla County, who had moved to Portland, and Anthony Vietti, 25, of Longview. A search that was suspended Wednesday evening failed to find Nolan and Vietti, who are now presumed also to have perished on the mountain.

The climbers' misfortune turned into an international drama as television, newspapers and the Internet tracked each day of the search. Even after his son's body was recovered, Rod Gullberg stayed at Timberline Lodge, the hub of the rescue, to be with the other families. He did not speak at the memorial service but did release a statement.

"We haven't even begun to think about life without Luke," Gullberg, a Washington State Patrol researcher, said in the statement. "There won't be a day that Luke won't be missed by his family."

Friends and family say Luke Gullberg was very close to his mother, Karen Gullberg, who died in January 2008 after a long battle with cancer. He was deeply religious and had a hard time reconciling his faith with his mother's passing.

"For Luke, it was like a mortal wound," said Mac Sauerlender, the pastor at Des Moines Gospel Chapel where Gullberg worshipped. "It shook him to the core."

Then in September, Gullberg headed out alone to the backcountry. He hiked more than 500 miles in three weeks on the Pacific Crest Trail, where he spread his mother's ashes. When he returned to Des Moines, friends and families said, he finally seemed to have accepted his mother's death.

"It was a turning point in his life," said Gullberg's older brother, Scott Gullberg.

















"Stoked" for climb

In the months that followed, Gullberg seemed to be much more his upbeat self. On the Saturday before his Mount Hood climb, Gullberg appeared "really stoked about the ascent," his friend Owen Barton said in an interview before the memorial service.


When Gullberg and his two climbing partners were reported missing, the families rushed to Oregon to monitor the search. During the hours of waiting, their anguish over the fate of the climbers was compounded by some news reports that helped reignite a debate in Oregon about whether Mount Hood climbers should be required to carry emergency beacons.


"It was obviously a very difficult time for the loved ones of those who died," said Dennis Simons, a chaplain from Sandy, Ore., who counseled the families throughout the search. "Sometimes the news reports upset the families, and I just tried to get things back on track."


Gullberg, Nolan and Vietti did not carry beacons. One veteran of Mount Hood searches, Steve Rollins of Portland Mountain Rescue, said he encourages the use of beacons but said it is unclear whether they would have made any difference last week.


Family and friends say that Gullberg — who organized the climb — was meticulous in preparing for each climb. Gullberg thoroughly researched each planned route, as well as weather and gear required to complete the ascent, according to Barton. He would communicate the plans in detailed e-mails sent to those who planned to accompany him


"Luke was very detailed," said Barton, who joined Gullberg on some of his climbs. "He didn't take anything lightly."


On the riskiest parts of a route, Gullberg typically would lead the way. Barton recalled one climb of Dragontail Peak in Washington's Enchantment Lakes Basin, where Gullberg made his way across an exposed, corniced ridge line to reach a belay point where he could set an anchor and offer others the safety of the rope.


The final ascent


Just what went wrong on the Mount Hood climb probably will never be known.


The trio began their ascent from Timberline Lodge around 2 a.m. Dec. 11. The day dawned with plenty of sun, and the weather remained sunny through most of the afternoon, before clouding over, according to National Weather Service forecasters.


Rollins, of Portland Mountain Rescue, said the trio initially intended to climb the Sandy Headwall route, which has steep slopes that make it substantially more difficult than the normal route.


Mount Hood is most commonly climbed in the summer. But the danger of rock and ice falls may be greater during the warm summer months so many climbers prefer to tackle the steeper routes in the winter or spring.


Rollins said the climbing group reached the base of the Sandy Headwall, and then opted to backtrack and attempt another route on the Reid Glacier. A photo retrieved from Gullberg's camera showed him roped up and the sun still shining, according to rescuers.


Rescuers believe that there was some sort of accident. Even in the winter, rock and ice fall remain a risk and can knock climbers off the slopes.


Gullberg's body was found without his gloves and one of Nolan's glove's nearby. Rescuers have hypothesized that Nolan may have been injured and that Gullberg was trying to go for help when he was overcome by hypothermia, which was found to be the cause of his death

Federal Way teenager has died after being rescued Sunday from Steel Lake

Reading the news stories this summer has broken my heart. I can't help but wonder, "did the family have life insurance? Can they afford to pay for the final expenses? Can they afford time off work during grief?"

While I would never want to be the classless sales person who may seem to want to "capitalize" on someone's grief, I just want to ask everyone who is at the vigil tonight at FWHS "do you have life insurance!?" We can always hope we never have to need it... but we'd be thanking ourselves tremendously for making sure we didn't wait until it was too late.

It just makes me think about how I would never want to start thinking of those things if my child died. Noone expects these things to happen. No one expects that someone as athletic as Tope was would be caught unable to swim to the surface. Too many of these drownings have occurred this summer. My husband and I will be going to the vigil held at the high school in support for the family and pray they make it through this difficult time.


http://www.federalwaymirror.com/news/165157266.html
A Federal Way teenager has died after being rescued Sunday from Steel Lake.
By ANDY HOBBS
Federal Way Mirror Editor August 6, 2012 · Updated 12:06 PM

A Federal Way teenager has died after being rescued Sunday from Steel Lake.


Tope Akinlosotu, 15, was taken to St. Francis Hospital in serious condition on Aug. 5. The Mirror confirmed that Tope has died despite efforts at the hospital to save him.

Tope was a student at Federal Way High School and the son of Matthew Akinlosotu. Multiple posts on Facebook expressed grief for the teen and his family.

South King Fire and Rescue's surface water crews canvassed the lake and found the teen under the dock, submerged in 12 feet of water. He was rescued at 2:44 p.m. Sunday, nearly 30 minutes after the first call for help. Medics performed CPR and life support at the scene, and were able to get a heartbeat.

According to a Federal Way police report, Tope and a group of friends met at Steel Lake Park to go swimming. A friend said Tope sat on the dock and dangled his feet over the edge before he suddenly slid into the water. The friend never saw Tope come up and began looking for him. Another witness reported that she heard Tope say "I can't float" and "How do you kick in the water?"

A lifeguard saw the commotion and cleared people out of the water, according to the police report. The lifeguards on duty searched for Tope before police and rescue workers arrived.
A vigil is scheduled for 7 p.m. today, Aug. 6, at Federal Way High School, 30611 16th Ave. S. Counselors were available at the school from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to offer assistance to grieving friends.

Several people described Tope as a friendly and outgoing teen. Tope was a gifted track and field athlete who also played football. The soon-to-be sophomore was active in student life at Federal Way High School, and was enrolled in the academically rigorous Cambridge Program.

"This kid was going places," said family friend and Federal Way author Nandell Palmer. "He was very charismatic, very outgoing, very caring and considerate."


Steel Lake was the scene of another drowning in July. Rescuers found 17-year-old Prabhakar Kumar in 12 feet of water. He had been submerged for nearly 15 minutes, and later died at the hospital.

In Pierce County, 19-year-old Marques Weekly of Kent died after being rescued Sunday from Lake Tapps, marking the third drowning at the lake this summer.

South King Fire officials urge safety and caution during water recreation. As far as general safety tips, swimmers should swim with a buddy, avoid horseplay and know their environment's hazards.

PHOTOS
As seen Monday afternoon at Federal Way High School in memory of Tope Akinlosotu: