News 9 WAOW anchor Neena Pacholke cause of death, apparent suicide
Anchor of the Wisconsin morning news At age 27, Neena Pacholke took her own life.
A former college basketball player who worked as a morning news anchor in Wisconsin died suddenly on Saturday at age 27. It looks like he killed himself.
When her family and coworkers heard that WAOW anchor Neena Pacholke had died, they were shocked. She was remembered for her happy-go-lucky attitude and smile that made people feel good.
In a statement, 9 WAOW said, Neena Pacholke, our beloved morning anchor, died suddenly on Saturday. Everyone at News 9 is devastated by the loss, and we know that many other people feel the same way."
Pacholke grew up in Tampa and played basketball for the University of South Florida. At the time of her death, she was planning to get married, according to her older sister Kaitlynn Pacholke.
Kaitlynn Pacholke said Monday morning, "She was like a little ball of sunshine, and her smile was huge." "By far, I thought my sister was the happiest person I knew."
One of Pacholke's last tweets was a retweet from author Jon Gordon about being positive and believing that the best is yet to come.
"We're not happy because things are easy. We're positive because life can be hard," Gordon wrote in the original tweet. "Be kind to yourself and other people. Talk about life and lift up others. Today, look for the good. Don't forget your WHY. Think that the best is still to come."
News 9 and Pacholke's co-anchor also said nice things about his smile and personality.
The station said, "She was a kind person with a big heart and a smile that made you want to smile too."
Brendan Mackey, who works with her, said that Pacholke had "the biggest smile and the funniest laugh in the room."
Mackey wrote in a Facebook post about the girl, "I have never met anyone in my whole life who is more loved than this girl." "She made people smile every day, whether it was on TV or just by being a great friend. She was so happy and full of life. She was a great example."
Pacholke joined the news station in May 2017 as a multimedia journalist. According to her website, she was made an anchor in February 2019.
She got her degree from the University of South Florida, where she was a point guard for three years and earned three letters.
The head coach of the USF women's basketball team, Jose Fernandez, said that the team was "devastated" by Pacholke's death.
"During this very hard time, our prayers are with the Pacholke family. "Please think of them," Fernandez said in a statement that was posted on Twitter.
Kaitlynn Pacholke said that you can't know what someone else is going through.
"No matter how well you think you know someone, you can't always know what they're going through.... She told the Tampa Bay Times, "My sister had access to everything you could think of." "Everyone liked her a lot. She did her job so well."
Kaitlynn Pacholke said that her younger sister was good at making people feel important and special, no matter how long she had known them.
She told the local Florida paper about her sister, "She just radiated love and positivity, and she cared so much about pouring into other people and always put other people first." "I believe she did that because she didn't care about herself."