Wendall J. Woodbury (June 20, 1942 – October 20, 2010) was an American

television journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

and

news anchor A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news program on TV, radio or the Internet. ...

. He spent much of his career as a reporter for

WGAL-TV WGAL (channel 8) is a television station licensed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States, serving the Susquehanna Valley region as an affiliate of NBC. Owned by Hearst Television, the station maintains studios on Columbia Avenue ( PA 462) in ...

Lancaster, Pennsylvania Lancaster, ( ; pdc, Lengeschder) is a city in and the county seat of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It is one of the oldest inland cities in the United States. With a population at the 2020 census of 58,039, it ranks 11th in population amon ...

, from 1968 until his retirement from broadcast news in 1992 as a feature reporter. He was known for a series of segments called "Wendall's World" while at WGAL. Woodbury was the first

television anchor A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to report on the

Three Mile Island accident The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor in Pennsylvania, United States. It began at 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979. It is the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclea ...

as the story broke in 1979.

Biography

Early life

Woodbury was born in

Belfast, Maine Belfast is a city in Waldo County, Maine, Waldo County, Maine, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city population was 6,938. Located at the mouth of the Passagassawakeag River estuary on Belfast Bay (Main ...

, to Blaine and Nellie (née Jackson) Woodbury. He graduated from Crosby High School in Belfast before enrolling in the Leland Powers School of Radio, Television and Theater in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Career

Woodbury began his broadcast career at several Maine television stations. He initially worked at the Maine Hildreth Television Network before becoming an announcer at

WAGM-TV WAGM-TV (channel 8) is a television station in Presque Isle, Maine, United States, affiliated with CBS, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox and The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Fort Kent, Maine, Fort Kent–licensed low-power br ...

in Presque Isle and

WABI-TV WABI-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Bangor, Maine, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on Hildreth Street in West Bangor, and its transmitter is atop Peaked Mountain in ...

in Bangor. Woodbury worked as a reporter, anchor and weatherman at

in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, for twenty-four years from 1968 until 1992. Woodbury was the first

in the

to report on the

as the story broke in 1979. He was known for a series of feature pieces at WGAL called ''Wendall's World''. Woodbury also co-hosted a television show called ''Susquehanna People'' with Mary Haverstick and sometimes hosted a dance show called ''Dance Party'', which was loosely based on ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...

''. He retired from WGAL in 1992 as a features reporter. Woodbury owned WJW Video Productions, headquartered in

Manheim, Pennsylvania Manheim is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,064 at the 2020 census. The borough was named after Kerpen- Manheim, Germany. History Manheim was laid out by Henry William Stiegel in 1762 on a land ...

, from 1992 until his death in 2010. He wrote, produced, edited and appeared in national and local

television commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

and corporate videos.

Death

Woodbury died from

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

at Hospice of Lancaster County in

, on October 20, 2010, aged 68. His funeral was held at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Lancaster. Woodbury and his wife of 48 years, Faith (née Lewis), were residents of Penn Township, Pennsylvania, located near Manheim. He was survived by his wife, daughter, grand-daughter, and two brothers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodbury, Wendall 1942 births 2010 deaths American television news anchors People from Belfast, Maine People from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Deaths from lymphoma Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania American male journalists Journalists from Pennsylvania