CORNWALL, Ontario – A longtime colleague of Leigh Chapple’s said Tuesday the loss of the iconic CTV Ottawa newscaster will be difficult to endure.
Max Keeping, a veteran of broadcasting himself, told Seaway News the untimely death of Chapple, who passed away Tuesday morning, is particularly troubling given the type of person she was.
“She was the genuine article,” said Keeping. “What you saw on-air was what she was like off-air.”
Chapple, 58, had only recently retired from broadcasting in May 2012 following 36 years in the business, and her husband Dean Holmes was likewise ready to retire.
“Everybody, all my former colleagues, they’re quite shocked,” said Keeping. “It’s just so unfair. You don’t understand. God doesn’t give you explanations.”
Chapple was not only the anchor of the late night newscast she also was the producer, said Keeping, who hired her as his assistant in order to get her foot in the door at the TV station once known as CJOH in Ottawa.
Keeping said she welcomed the ability to send viewers off to bed peacefully.
“When you have the 11:30 local news on it’s to make sure everything is alright in your world,” he said. “She loved saying good night to people.”
