FanPost

Gary Papa dies

Action News sports director Gary Papa, 54, died today, more than five years after explaining to viewers that he was losing his hair due to prostate cancer.

Mr. Papa, a Buffalo native, joined 6ABC in April 1981 as a weekend sportscaster.

Meteorologist Cecily Tynan described Mr. Papa as a "wonderful person, full of life, full of energy, full of love for his family and his coworkers. We're all going to miss him terribly. . . . He fought the battle as well as he could, but he couldn't fight any longer. He'll stay alive in our hearts and in the viewers' hearts."

Papa died at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He's survived by his wife Kathy and two sons, Tucker and Nathaniel.

Mr. Papa was the catalyst for Run 4 Your Life, an annual fund-raiser for prostate cancer research on the Ben Franklin Parkway. It will be held, as scheduled, on Sunday.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

Source:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20090619_Gary_Papa_dies.html