RIP, John Slattery of WCBS-TV

From the In My Backyard Desk, some sad news. The veteran television reporter was a familiar face to many New Yorkers—and a devout Catholic.

Details: 

John Slattery, a longtime CBS New York reporter from Larchmont who covered major stories for more than 30 years, has died at age 63.

Slattery died unexpectedly Wednesday night after suffering what his family believes was a heart attack at his home, his daughter said.

Slattery was a four-time Emmy Award winner and covered some of the biggest stories of the last century, according to his official company bio.

He was one of the first reporters on the scene after the World Trade Center attack and covered the commercial airplane water landing on the Hudson River and Superstorm Sandy. He also reported from Saudi Arabia, Ireland and the Vatican.

“He was a deeply religious man with an irreverent sense of humor. But he was happiest when he was with his family and especially his three granddaughters,” said his oldest daughter, Kathleen Hirdt. “We will miss him dearly.”

Known for his dry wit, kindness and humility, Slattery had gone to work on Wednesday as usual. Friends and colleagues took to social media Thursday expressing their shock and grief.

CBS 2 President and General Manager Peter Dunn praised Slattery’s reporting in a statement Thursday morning.

“We are saddened by the unexpected passing of our friend and colleague John Slattery. During his nearly 30-year career at WCBS, he was great at reporting the news and was someone we counted on to cover big stories for us, both here in New York and around the world,” he said.

Slattery got his undergraduate degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati, and received a master’s in theology from St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers. (A CBS colleague once told me that for a while he was seriously discerning a vocation to the diaconate.) A deacon who knew him tells me Slattery served regularly as an EMHC at his parish in Larchmont.

He was a familiar presence at the CBS Broadcast Center when I was working there, but I regret that I never got to know him.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him…