Terry Alan Zahn (April 27, 1946 – January 25, 2000) was a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and anchorman in

Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, from 1981 until his death in 2000 from

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...

(a type of bone cancer).

Biography

Zahn was Born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, on April 27, 1946. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a Bachelor of Arts in 1968. In 1974, he received his Master's Degree from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu. In 1969, Zahn served in the U.S. Navy. After serving in the military, he briefly had a stint with KTIV. In 1981, Zahn moved to

WAVY-TV WAVY-TV (channel 10) is a television station licensed to Portsmouth, Virginia, United States, serving the Hampton Roads area as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Virginia Beach–licensed Fox affiliate WVBT (chann ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, where he would remain until 1994, when he moved to WVEC-TV. During his tenure under WVEC, Zahn received awards from the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ...

, and the Virginia Association of Broadcasters.

Cancer

Zahn was first diagnosed with cancer in the late 1990s. Prior to his diagnosis, he had been active in planning the Hampton Roads area Relay for Life and a supporter of the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

.Zahn produced a series of television news stories and a documentary program about his battle with cancer. The program, which aired on WVEC-TV, was entitled "My Race Against Cancer."'Relay' captains ready for the walk
Virginia/North Carolina News The program chronicled his medical progress and personal ordeal from the time of his diagnosis until his cancer went into remission. At WVEC, Zahn produced two nationally distributed videos for the American Cancer Society encouraging communities to hold Relay for Life events. Zahn toured the United States to promote Relay for Life and continued his involvement with Relay until his death. He was inducted into National Relay Hall of Fame in 1999. At the time of his death, Zahn lived in

Chesapeake Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

, Virginia, where he is buried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahn, Terry 1946 births 2000 deaths United States Navy officers American television personalities Old Dominion University faculty People from Milwaukee People from Chesapeake, Virginia University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Deaths from multiple myeloma Deaths from cancer in Virginia Military personnel from Milwaukee