A tribute to local figures lost in 2024
WWAY NEWS — As we get ready to head into the new year, we want to remember some local figures that we lost in 2024.
2024 saw the loss of several notable celebrities and sports figures, with ties to southeastern North Carolina.
Among them, tennis trailblazer Lenny Simpson, who died on February 9th at the age of 76. In 1964, Simpson was the youngest male player to compete in the U.S. National Championship, which is now the U.S. Open. Later in his life, Simpson founded the “One Love” tennis program and the Lenny Simpson tennis & education fund.
On April 20th, Wilmington native, Roman Gabriel died at the age of 83. Gabriel was an NFL quarterback, drafted in 1962 by the Los Angeles Rams. In his 11-year career as a Ram, he threw for 22,223 yards and 154 touchdowns, leaving the franchise as its career leading passer.
On May 13th, Samm-Art Williams died at the age of 78. Williams grew up in Pender County, and was an accomplished playwright, screenwriter, stage and film actor and producer. He was also an executive producer, story editor, and writer on several TV shows, including “Frank’s Place”, which earned him an Emmy nomination, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”, “Hanging with Mr. Cooper” and “Martin”.
Former New Hanover County commissioner Skip Watkins died on November 6th at the age of 66. Watkins served as commissioner from 2014 to 2018. Prior to becoming commissioner, he was a long-time manager for the Cape Fear Fair and Expo.
On November 15th the “One Tree Hill” actor Paul Teal died at the age of 35 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. One of the last projects teal worked on was “Newsies” a musical about a group of newspaper boys fighting for their rights during the 1899 New York City Newsboy Strike.
And on November 19th, we lost our very own WWAY news anchor, Donna Gregory to lung cancer. Gregory came out of semi-retirement to join WWAY in 2019. Prior to that, Donna worked for WRAL in Raleigh for nearly a decade and also spent time working at the national network level.
Our hearts go out to all of those who lost someone in 2024. Forever remembered.
