A Wisconsin morning news anchor and former college basketball player died suddenly on Saturday at the age of 27 in an apparent suicide.
The news of WOW anchor Nina Pacholke’s death shocked her family and colleagues, and she was remembered for her infectious smile and jovial demeanor.
“Nina Pacholke, our beloved Morning anchor passed away suddenly on Saturday,” 9 WAOW said in a statement. “The entire team here at News 9 is completely devastated by the loss as we know there are many others.”
Pacholke, who grew up in Tampa and played basketball for the University of South Florida, was about to be married at the time of his death, his older sister, Kaitlyn Pacholke, told the Tampa Bay Times.
“She was like a little ball of sunshine, and her smile was heavy,” Caitlyn Pacholke said Monday morning. “My sister was the luckiest person I ever thought I knew.”
One of Pacholke’s last posts on Twitter was a retweet from writer John Gordon about positivity and has yet to believe.
“We are not positive because life is easy. We are positive because life can be tough,” Gordon wrote in the original tweet. “Give yourself (and others) grace. Speak life and encourage others. Seek the good today. Remember your WHY. Believe that the best is yet to come.”
News 9 and Pacholke’s co-anchors also cited Pacholke’s smile and bubbly personality in the tribute.
“She was a kind person with a big heart and an infectious smile and we will miss her dearly,” the station said.
His co-anchor Brendan McKay said that Pacholke was “the brightest light in the room” with “the biggest smile and the funniest laugh”.
“I’ve never in my entire life met anyone who loves this girl more,” Mackey wrote in a tribute post on Facebook. “Every day he made people smile, whether it was through a TV screen or just an incredible friend. She was very happy and full of life and a role model. ,
According to her website, Pacholke joined the news station in May 2017 as a multimedia journalist and was promoted to anchor in February 2019.
She graduated from the University of South Florida, where she wrote three seasons as a point guard.
Jose Fernandez, head coach of the USF women’s basketball team, said the organization was “devastated” at Pchollke’s death.
“Our prayers are with the Pacholke family during this extremely difficult time. Please keep them in your thoughts,” Fernandez said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Caitlyn Pacholke said that you can never really know what the other person is doing.
“Sometimes you don’t know what people are doing, no matter how much you think you know someone. … My sister had access to every resource you could imagine,” she told Tampa told the Bay Times. “She was loved by everyone. She was very good at her job.”
Caitlyn Pacholke said that her younger sister had a talent for making people feel special and important, whether she had known them for five minutes or her entire life.
“She just radiated love and positivity, and she just cared so much about putting in other people, and always put other people first,” she told her sister’s local Florida paper. “I think he did it at the cost of not caring about himself.