Aussie News Veteran Ian Ross Departs at 73 [VIDEO]
Australia's former Seven News Reader Ian "Roscoe" Ross has died of kidney failure at 3:01 a.m. on April 30.
Ross announced he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2014. He was born on June 24, 1940, began his career in radio way back 1957. He then started in television as a National Nine News reporter in 1965, and stayed there for 38 years.
After his long years of tenure in Nine News, he was pirated by the Seven Network in 2003. In a short period, he made progress with the station in 2004. In 2005, Seven News became Sydney's number one news bulletin. He worked with Seven News for 7 years until he retired November 2009. He became a popular newsreader in Australian television in his career's lifetime.
Roscoe was in a relationship with Gray Bolte, whom stayed with him until his last moments. Ross and his ex-wife had three children and eight grandchildren.
The veteran journalist bid farewell spending his last days with his family. Pru Macsween, a good friend and known media personality, shared, "He got to say goodbye to everyone he loved, to all his kids and to Gray ... he handled it all with dignity," as stated in a report by Andrew Hornery from Sydney Morning Herald.
Macsween added, "He started having issues with his bile duct just over a week ago and then his kidneys failed ... at that point it was not looking very good. Ian thought he would be home out of hospital on Monday, but sadly we lost him."
Former colleagues in Nine and Seven News have nothing but good memories of the great newsman.
"He was also great fun to work with. He was serious about his job, but didn't take himself too seriously and frequently entertained the newsroom with jokes at his own expense. We will all treasure our memories of Roscoe," Chris Willis, director of Seven News, said in Sydney Morning Herald's report.
"Roscoe is the good guy who always finished first. That he was universally loved by his peers in as tough and competitive an industry as television news says it all. What's more, his wide audience also thought the world of him," as told by Nine Chief Executive David Gyngell.
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