On Thursday morning, a Raleigh legend was laid to rest. Charlie Gaddy -- North Carolina’s Walter Cronkite and WRAL’s main anchor for more than two decades -- got one last goodbye, during a funeral at Raleigh’s Edenton Street United Methodist Church.
Rev. Bruce Stanley, whom Gaddy chose to deliver the sermon at the service, shared a letter Gaddy had written him, that was to be opened only after Gaddy’s death.
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“The letter begins, ‘Dear Bruce, I have never died before, so this is all new to me,’” said Stanley, to laughs from the crowd. “What a great gift, for him to offer his humor, even from that other side of the River Jordan.”
Dozens of family and friends and long-time WRAL colleagues, gathered to honor the anchor, sharing stories of the man who made people across North Carolina laugh, cry and feel the biggest events of the day.
“I stand here today for what is one of the greatest honors of my life: to eulogize a man so deeply loved and admired," said former WRAL anchor Debra Morgan, one of three speakers tapped to share their thoughts and memories of Gaddy. “I will miss his laugh and those big hugs.”
“How lucky are we to have known Charlie Gaddy?” asked Jim Goodmon, chairman of the board of directors of Capitol Broadcasting Company, WRAL’s parent company.
Gaddy’s family also shared tearful memories.
One of his nieces, Emile Frame, said, “While you and Nancy never had children, we knew we were your daughters.”
The funeral was also a chance to show how Gaddy, the face of WRAL for more than two decades, not only touched thousands via a television screen, but set the tone for generations of journalists.
“He taught me to listen to everyone. Everyone has a story,” said Clarence Williams, a former WRAL director who spent decades at the station, and worked closely with Gaddy.
Malinda Adams, a former WRAL producer who went on to work for multiple networks, and now works with ESPN said, “Charlie was about character, integrity and respect.”
“He was a father figure for me, and just all around good guy,” said Renee McCoy, a former anchor and reporter with WRAL. “Always there for you, always supporting and always helping you to get better.”
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After the service, Gaddy was laid to rest at Raleigh’s Montlawn Memorial Park.