Remembering Kathi Goertzen, Inspirational Role Model

By Seattle Magazine Staff August 13, 2012

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News broke today that longtime KOMO-TV anchor Kathi Goertzen died after a long struggle with brain tumors.

We at Seattle mag have long been big fans of her work at KOMO and, in particular, of the bravery she showed in the face of this illness. In fact, we named her “Most Inspirational Media Role Model” in our Best Of 2011 issue. Here’s what we wrote then:

Fans of longtime KOMO-TV anchor Kathi Goertzen were stunned when she first announced she had an aggressive brain tumor more than a decade ago. Since then, she’s been fighting her health battle in a very public way, sharing details of her surgeries and recoveries as the persistent—but benign—tumor has reappeared again and again. That sharing came to something of a peak, when Goertzen decided to post a photo of herself taken after a facial nerve failed. “This turn of events has caused me to think quite a bit about appearances and what really makes us who we are,” she wrote on KOMO’s blog. “It’s also caused me to reconsider the way I always used to plan for tomorrow, instead of enjoying the present day.”

We are deeply saddened to hear the news and send our sympathies and best wishes to Goertzen’s friends and family as they cope with this huge loss.

 

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