TV presenter dies after falling ill on family holiday as colleagues pay tribute
Lesley Swick Van Ness has died at the age of 42 after falling ill while on holiday with her family.
The NBC news host, who worked for WGEM-TV and Gray Television, was hospitalised last Thursday after becoming ill. She was pronounced dead on Monday.
Lesley's devastated co-worker Jennifer Dale paid tribute to her friend as she asked fans to keep her family in their prayers.
"It is with a very heavy heart that we share some devastating news with you.
"Lesley Van Ness, who we have been so fortunate to have as part of the Gray family, passed away this (Monday) morning," the vice president of recruiting at Gray Television said in a statement.
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NBC anchor Lesley Swick Van Ness has died (Twitter/ @Lesley_WGEM)"Lesley had been on vacation with her beautiful family in Florida when she fell ill and was hospitalized last Thursday.
"Lesley and her husband Tom have two precious young boys. Please keep all of them in your prayers.
"We will keep everyone posted on arrangements," Jennifer added in a statement shared with Muddy River News.
Lesley's colleagues have been paying tribute to her, describing their friend as a "powerful" force who "did her job with integrity".
Her co-anchor of seven years, Matt Schmidt said: "She could walk into the newsroom and instantly take over. She just had a commanding presence about her.
She was just 42 years old (WGEM)"Sitting on the news desk was an awesome experience."
WGEM-TV meteorologist Brian Inman added: "She wasn't afraid to do the dirty work and wasn't afraid to work the extra hour, especially if it was something that was really impacting the community."
Lesley graduated from Illinois State University before starting her career with NBC in 2003.
In 2006, she transitioned to a weekend anchor position at WGEM-TV and began anchoring the weekday editions of the evening and late-night newscasts in 2008.
Lesley's funeral will be held on April 17 in Quincy, Illinois, and friends and family are invited to attend the service.
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