Respected PBS NewsHour anchor Gwen Ifill dies aged 61 after a short, private battle with cancer

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Gwen Ifill, the respected PBS news anchor, has died at the age of 61 after losing a battle with cancer.

Ifill, who was best known as the NewsHour co-anchor and managing editor of PBS talk show Washington Week, passed away surrounded by her family in a Washington hospice on Monday. 

The respected newscaster had moderated two vice-presidential debates, between John Edwards and Dick Cheney in 2004; and between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden in 2008.

Earlier this month PBS announced she would be taking time off for health reasons but had kept her battle with cancer private.

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Long-time journalist and newscaster Gwen Ifill died aged 61 on Monday after losing her battle with cancer

Ifill was best known as PBS's NewsHour co-anchor, pictured interviewing President Obama who paid tribute to her today

'I am very sad to tell you that our dear friend and beloved colleague Gwen Ifill passed away today,' WETA TV President and CEO Sharon Percy Rockefeller wrote in a staff-wide email obtained by Politico.

'I spent an hour with her this morning and she was resting comfortably, surrounded by loving family and friends... Earlier today, I conveyed to Gwen the devoted love and affection of all of us at WETA/NewsHour. Let us hold Gwen and her family even closer now in our hearts and prayers.'

President Barack Obama described Ifill as a friend, a 'powerful role model' and an 'extraordinary' journalist with 'integrity', in a touching tribute speech.

She and her NewsHour co-host, Judy Woodruff (L) pictured at the Women's Media Awards on November 5, 2015, where Ifill accepted a Lifetime Achievement award 

The respected newscaster had moderated two vice-presidential debates, between John Edwards and Dick Cheney in 2004; and between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden in 2008 (pictured) 

PBS journalist Gwen Ifill was the moderator during the vice presidential debates in 2008 between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin

'She gave her country a great service,' he said in a speech today at the White House.

Ifill never married not had any children. When asked about in 2008, she still seemed hopeful. 

'I don't know why I'm not married,' she told TIME. 'I just know I will be, so I don't sweat it.'

Sadly she never got the chance to fulfill that wish. She died on Monday - just two days before she was scheduled to receive a prestigious award, the John Chancellor Award, at a Columbia University ceremony, reports.

She was born to immigrant parents, her father Urcille Ifill, a Barbadian who immigrated from Panama, and her mother, Eleanor, immigrated from Barbados. Ifill also had five siblings, all older.  

The broadcaster was diagnosed with cancer sometime between late 2015 and early 2016, according to her close friend Michele Norris.

She shared the news with family and friends but decided she wanted to keep her diagnosis private.

In April, PBS announced she was taking a two month leave of absence for 'ongoing health issues.' Norris revealed today that those issues arose due to complications from her treatment.

Yet she was back at work the next month, and within weeks had secured an exclusive interview with Obama.

However, she was forced to take another leave of absence last week where she traveled to a hospice in Washington, Rockerfeller said in the email.  

PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger described Ifill as 'one of America's leading lights in journalism.'

In a statement, he said that she was one of the reasons that people felt like they could trust the media.

'Her contributions to thoughtful reporting and civic discourse simply cannot be overstated,' he added.

'She often said that her job was to bring light rather than heat to issues of importance to our society. Gwen did this with grace and a steadfast commitment to excellence.

'Our sorrow at her passing is a part of our profound gratitude for all that she did for our system and our nation. It was an honor to know Gwen and to work with her. All of us at PBS express our sincere condolences to Gwen's friends and family.' 

NewsHour's executive producer Sara Just described Ifill as a 'journalist's journalist' who set a high standard for everyone to follow.  

Many of her colleagues, fellow broadcasters and politicians have already begun paying tribute to the well respected journalist.

NBC Nightly News' Lester Holt said he was 'very sad' to hear of Ifill's death. 

'Gwen represented the best of broadcast journalism,' he said. 'Our hearts are broken.'

Ifill never married but was still close with her family including her cousin Sherrilyn Ifill  President & Director-Counsel of LDF (NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund)

She was the youngest of six children, born to her immigrant parents Urcille and Eleanor (pictured with older brother Earle Ifill)

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan ‏tweeted that he was also 'saddened' to hear about Ifill, 'an incredibly talented and respected journalist.'

Pete Williams, of MSNBC, broke down in tears on air as he reported the death of his 'dear friend'.

'Gwen would want me to get this together,' he said as he fought back tears, describing how the talented newspaper reporter got her first job in TV with MSNBC.

'She was one of the most successful women in journalism. She has so many awards in her office you could barely see out of window,' he joked. 

Meet the Press Daily's Chuck Todd said he was 'heartbroken' over the loss.

'She owned every beat she was on, whether at the @nytimes @NBCNews or @NewsHour or anywhere else,' he tweeted. 

CNBC reporter John Harwood described the 61-year-old broadcaster as a 'terrific friend and colleague, whip-smart newspaper reporter and skilled broadcaster, holder of best BS detector I ever saw.'

Tamron Hall, Co-Host the TODAY Show, added she was 'heartbroken' to learn that her 'hero' had passed away. 

Her Newshour co-host Judy Woodruff has not yet commented on the loss.

Ifill began her career in the late 1970s as a political newspaper reporter at a time when black and female reporters were rare. 

Ifill joined PBS in 1999 where she became the moderator of the PBS program Washington Week in Review and co-anchor for PBS NewsHour

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton is interviewed by broadcaster Gwen Ifill during the 2011 Fiscal Summit

Many of her colleagues, fellow broadcasters and politicians have already begun paying tribute to the well respected journalist

Ifill also wrote for some of the country's most esteemed newspapers, including The Washington Post and the New York Times, before transitioning to broadcast journalism in 1994 with MSNBC. 

She told the New York Times in 2013, shortly after she and Woodruff were named the first women co-anchors of NewsHour, that she hoped that her breakthrough into journalism and broadcasting would inspire others.

'When I was a little girl watching programs like this I would look up and not see anyone who looked like me in any way. No women. No people of color. 

'I'm very keen about the fact that a little girl now, watching the news, they see me and Judy sitting side by side it will occur to them that that's perfectly normal- that it won't seem like any big breakthrough at all.'   

Ifill served on the board of the Harvard Institute of Politics and the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. She was also a board member of the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Museum of Television and Radio.

She had also released a book, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, in 2009.