NEW ORLEANS — Legendary former WWL-TV anchor Angela Hill reflected Saturday on the untimely death of Fox 8 anchor Nancy Parker.
Nancy and I actually met because we were both covering the canonization of the founder of Xavier University (Mother Katharine Drexel, in 2000) and we were in Rome. We met at the airport, she had just started at Channel 8. And I just instantly liked her. She just had a real engaging charisma.
I often think about what it takes to be a good anchor and Nancy had it all. She had credibility, she had authority and, most importantly, she had empathy and I think that combination is what made her as successful as she was. But the bottom line is that is who she was.
Anybody who knew her (knew) she always had her heart and her smile and as successful as she has been professionally, with all the awards she won, (it) was because she did all the work that it took to be good. But I think her greatest success were her children.
When she had Parker, she had some time off, she actually came to Channel 4 to introduce me to Parker. She was so proud of that baby and then for her to have twins, it’s like it completed her. She was a mother first.
Often, because she was so active in emceeing events, our paths would cross a lot. And I remember one night she and Glynn (her husband) and I were involved in some fundraiser and I told my husband, ‘You know what we’re looking at? We’re looking at a couple really in love.’ The admiration they had for each other, you could feel it. I cry for him and I cry for her family.
We are competitors but we truly are a family. We are doing the same thing, we understand the pressures, we understand the demands and we respect when someone is very, very good. That’s what Nancy was. You didn’t have to have worked alongside her to see she was exceptional and to admire that.
It sounds corny, but she was really a shining star. She just was so effervescent and caring. You can still do the very hard stories, the very hard news and have that heart, and she did.
Can't see the video? Click here
MORE
WWL NEWS APP
► Get breaking news from your neighborhood delivered directly to you by downloading the FREE WWL-TV News app now in the IOS App Store or Google Play.