Beloved NPR Reporter Dead at Age 66

NPR has lost one of its most familiar voices. Craig Windham, an award-winning reporter who anchored newscasts and covered a variety of subjects, died Sunday of a pulmonary embolism at age 66, NPR reports. He apparently had ongoing health issues and was visiting North Carolina to see his brother when he died in Winston-Salem, Current reports. "Craig touched so many lives," says NPR Newscast executive producer Robert Garcia. "His beautiful writing, his use of sound, his calm, steady, gorgeous delivery—all marked the work of a caring journalist who loved nothing more than telling a good story, adding the texture that took you there, and leaving every listener invested in some way—moved or informed."

Before joining NPR, Windham reported on natural disasters, the first Persian Gulf War, and presidential campaigns for Unistar/RKO radio networks, according to his NPR bio page. At NPR he was on daily newscasts of Morning Edition and All Things Considered. When he wasn't reporting, Windham worked in his church and helped young people in overseas mission trips, youth programs, and his own business counseling adolescents. He had a Ph.D. in counseling from George Washington University. "In numerous national speaking engagements, Craig had established himself as one of the leaders in the counseling field in the United States," Garcia says. (More reporter stories.)