Remembering Harry Wappler

Harry Wappler, the legendary KIRO 7 meteorologist who appeared on Seattle-area television screens longer than any other TV weatherman, died April 21.

"It is with great sadness that I share with you that we have lost one of our truly special gems today," wrote KIRO 7 Vice President and General Manager Eric Lerner in an e-mail to KIRO 7 employees. "Harry Wappler and KIRO will always be connected, and we could not be more proud."

SLIDESHOW: Harry Wappler Through The Years

UNCUT: Message From Harry's Sons

Known for his wit and ability to ad-lib on live television, Harry said his favorite moments were the ones when he made people laugh.

"I think any time you can get a run as long as I’ve had, you can’t have any regrets about it," he told an interviewer when he was awarded a National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle award in 1996.

A graduate of Northwestern University, Harry earned a masters degree at Yale Divinity School and was an ordained Episcopal priest.

Harry began work at KIRO 7 in 1969 after moving his family from Evanston, Ill., to escape the effects of ragweed on his oldest son, Bill.

"I checked with an allergist after listening to my son wheeze in Chicago in August one summer, and he said, 'Well you can go to Seattle, or San Francisco or Denver. They don’t have any ragweed.' And we just picked Seattle out of the three because we thought it'd be nice. We’d never been here.”

Harry said that when he arrived at KIRO 7, he thought he would do something "profound and intellectual." And then the general manager at the time told him, "You look like a weatherman."

Other than a three-year stint in the 1970s as a forecaster at WNBC-TV in New York, Harry was the face of KIRO 7's weather coverage until he retired in 2002.

"Harry Wappler did more than forecast the day’s weather. He let us know that tomorrow would always be better," said long-time friend and co-worker, KIRO 7 news anchor Steve Raible. "He was ‘everybody’s neighbor’... and took the responsibility seriously. Most of all, he was one of the funniest, kindest, most gentle souls I’ve ever known. We’ll miss him and think of him with every cloud, ray of sunshine, and rainy day."

When Harry left the station, his son Andy became chief meteorologist. Andy left the station in 2008 to work at Puget Sound Energy, where he is a vice president.

During a one-hour "Farewell, Harry!" special, television newscasters and personalities who worked with Harry through the years offered their tributes. They included Dan Rather, Andy Wappler, Aaron Brown, Wayne Cody, Gary Justice, Sandy Hill, J.P. Patches and many more famous faces.

When Harry retired, KIRO 7 Vice President and General Manager John Woodin said, "No broadcaster has made greater contributions to our industry or community over the past three decades than Harry Wappler."

Harry suffered a stroke Tuesday night, and he died Wednesday at Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue.

A memorial service is scheduled for Thursday, April 29 at 2 p.m. at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Mercer Island. More details