Goodbye to a legend: Longtime WUSA9 anchor Bruce Johnson dies at 71

WASHINGTON (7News) — Longtime WUSA9 anchor Bruce Johnson died of heart failure Sunday morning in Delaware. He was 71.

He is survived by his wife, Lori three children -- Brandon, Kurshanna and Carolyn -- and three grandsons.

Lori, announced the news on her Facebook page Sunday, adding that the family is asking for folks to respect their privacy at this time.

According to WUSA9, Johnson anchored the news for 44 years before retiring in 2020, winning 22 Emmys. Johnson was a member of the Society of Professional Journalists Hall of Fame, the Washington, D.C. Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame at the University of Kentucky.

Richard Dyer, General Manager and Station President at WUSA9 released the following statement:

The entire WUSA9 is deeply saddened at the sudden loss of our long-time colleague, mentor and friend, Bruce Johnson. For 44 years, from 1976-2020 Bruce was the Dean of local reporters in the Nation’s Capitol. He uniquely fulfilled his noble calling to hold local officials accountable while also serving our community through a deep passion to amplify the stories of those often unheard. He also fearlessly shared his own health challenges to benefit and save countless lives.

We were so fortunate to know Bruce in two ways; On Script as a professional and Off-Script as a mentor and friend who always shared and cared from the heart.

Since closing out his career at WUSA9 in December 2020, Bruce was literally opening new chapters in his life. His just-released memoir, “Surviving Deep Waters” revealed so many new revelations about why he possessed the incredible resilience that we all saw firsthand; highlighted by his surviving a heart attack and beating cancer.

We are collectively grieving Bruce’s loss along with his wife, Lori and their entire family. We ultimately know that our tears will slowly transition to the great memories of how Bruce touched our lives. He was living his best life until his final day and has left us all a great legacy to live each day we’re blessed with to the fullest.

We look forward to celebrating his life and legacy as plans are finalized.

Johnson began at Channel 9 on March 16, 1976, at 25 years old. Among the many tributes pouring in Sunday night was a tweet from DC Mayor Muriel Bowser, who called Johnson a "giant of DC journalism."

Johnson recently had a new book published on Feb. 8, titled 'Surviving Deep Waters.' Johnson's Twitter account indicates he was scheduled to speak about his book on Wednesday at the DC Public Library.

Longtime 7News DC reporter Sam Ford, who knew Johnson well, posted the following on his Facebook page Sunday evening:

"Wow, what a shock. I just saw Bruce from afar a week or so ago he was the MC for the mayor’s March Madness event at the Ronald Reagan Building.

"A few months ago, shortly after I lost my wife Gloria, I was outside the mayor's house waiting to interview her when Bruce and his wife Lorie were out for their morning walk. They walked up and gave me a big hug and expressed their condolences. Bruce was telling me about his new book. So very sad to hear. He was a giant of DC journalism and a good brother. We ran into each other at Ben’s one day and I took this selfie."

All of us at 7News extend condolences to Johnson's family, as well as our friends and colleagues at WUSA9.

Learn more about Bruce's life and donate to his favorite charities here: http://cbrucejohnson.org/