Elise Finch, an Emmy-winning meteorologist for WCBS-TV in New York, died unexpectedly Sunday, according to her employer.
“Elise was on the air with us just this past Friday,” CBS New York said in a statement over the weekend. “Her death is sudden and unexpected, leaving us all trying to understand how this could happen to our beautiful Elise, who was just 51 years old.”
Finch died at a local hospital, it said. A cause of death has not been determined.
She is survived by husband Graig Henriques ― a CBS New York photojournalist ― and their 6-year-old daughter, Grace, as well as Finch’s parents, her sister and her sister’s children, CBS New York said in a separate article remembering the reporter.
She had worked at WCBS-TV since 2007, when she joined as a weekend meteorologist. Prior to her death, she appeared on the weekday morning news with co-anchors Mary Calvi and Chris Wragge.
She joined CBS from NBC, where she was a meteorologist for the show “Early Today,” MSNBC and NBC Weather Plus. She had previously worked at CBS, ABC and FOX affiliates in Arizona, Ohio and Minnesota.
“Elise was a gifted and consummate professional who took great care with her work. She was also a wonderful ambassador in the community,” CBS New York. “She was our bright light in the morning.”
The station described her as a “beloved” colleague “who knew her stuff and helped us understand it to stay safe.”
“She would break down the complex with refreshing candor,” it said. “She gave us the forecast and was always ready with perspective.”
The New York native received a Bachelor of Science degree from Washington’s Georgetown University and a Master of Science degree in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University in New York.
Wragge, her morning news colleague, said he was heartbroken by the news. “Our team will never be the same,” he wrote on Twitter.
“Elise was fiercely loyal to those she loved, a straight shooter, a consummate professional, and made me laugh until I cried,” tweeted Jessica Moore, a weekend evening anchor on WCBS-TV.
“But above all she was completely devoted to her family, especially her daughter Grace. I love you so much, my friend. Heaven now has an angel like no other.”
WCBS-TV reporter Tony Aiello remembered Finch for her love of music.
“The song of her life deserved many more verses,” Aiello tweeted. “Her gifts were many, and so too the lives she touched.”
