Bruce Schwoegler passed away. For decades, his visage lit up the television screens of millions of WBZ-TV viewers as he delved into the week’s weather prediction.
The former weatherman spent 33 years working at the Boston-based station and had an enduring reputation as a top broadcast meteorologist and science writer. He passed away on Thursday morning at the age of 80, according to WBZ.
According to Mel White, his daughter, he had aphasia, a language impairment brought on by brain injury that affects both spoken and written speech.
A Massachusetts Broadcasting Hall of Fame inductee and Emmy Award-winning meteorologist, Schwoegler was also a U.S. Navy veteran, author, teacher, father, husband, and “just one heck of a guy,” according to his daughter.
One of the newscasters with the longest careers in Boston’s broadcasting history was Schwoegler. According to his Facebook page, he received numerous awards, including the prestigious Ohio State Award for a prime time special on the Greenhouse Effect and the National Outstanding Broadcast Meteorologist Service Award from the American Meteorological Society. He also won New England’s first Emmy Award for Outstanding Meteorologist.
Schwoegler collaborated alongside sportscaster Bob Lobel, anchors Jack Williams and Liz Walker, and other members of the long-running Eyewitness News team at WBZ who are all also members of the Pennsylvania Broadcasters Hall of Fame. The former television personality further made appearances on CNN and NBC’s Today Show, and he also gave multiple performances with the Boston Pops, Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, and Boston Civic Symphony.
On Saturday, when Schwoegler’s admirers, current journalists, and a few of his former coworkers shared heartwarming recollections of him, the word “RIP Bruce” began trending on Twitter.
