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Katherine Creag, who was working as recently as Wednesday, Feb. 10, died unexpectedly later that night from unknown causes.
“For 10 years Kat was one of our cornerstones, always willing to help in any situation, whether it was a colleague in need of a shift that needed to be covered,” WNBC’s Vice President of news, Amy Morris, said in an email to the staff this week.
“She was thoughtful, funny, and relentless. And even on the toughest days, she was a bright light, quick with a kind word and a smile.”
Born in the Philippines, Creag had been with WNBC since 2011 following a five-year stint with Fox.
According to WNBC, Creag was a 1996 graduate of New York University, and she has won or shared multiple Emmys, AP, and Murrow awards over the course of a career that also took her to Dallas, Charlotte, and Syracuse.
“Katherine Creag was dedicated to connecting with New Yorkers and sharing their stories. She worked tirelessly for our city,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio posted on social media.
Tributes poured in from local reporters from the Wall Street Journal, NY1, WPIX, and MSNBC on Twitter.
“Kat made everything better and more beautiful just by being there. Energetic, thoughtful, caring, fun,” Wall Street Journal reporter Katie Honan posted. "A great reporter, friend, and wonderful wife and mom. Please think of her family and colleagues today.”
“This is just heartbreaking news,” Michael Scotto, a producer at NY1 said. “Whenever I had to work the morning shift and ran into Katherine, I knew it was going to be a good day. She was so warm and always smiling, even at 3:00 a.m.”
Creag is survived by husband Bill Gafner, a son, and two daughters.
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