Las Vegans tell Gonzalez goodbye

Eric Leake

Thursday, April 7, 2005 | 9:20 a.m.

Las Vegas residents and television viewers on Wednesday remembered KLAS Channel 8 anchor Polly Gonzalez, a woman many of the approximately 1,000 mourners had never met.

But, as one of them, Scott Randall put it, they had "watched her every day for many years."

"She was like a member of the family," Randall said. "She came into our home every day. She just seemed so real, not like someone reading the news.

"Her personality came across," he said after the memorial service at Shadow Hills Baptist Church. "It's amazing how many people are here today. It's incredible.

"She'll never know that we were here, but we all wanted to come to pay our respects."

Gonzalez died March 28 when her Ford Explorer rolled on a highway near Death Valley. She was 43.

Gonzalez was born in San Jose, Calif., and was buried there after a funeral Sunday.

At the memorial service Wednesday she was remembered as a smiling and determined woman who worked her way from a humble start to the anchor desk.

Colleague and Channel 8 anchor Gary Waddell, who had choked up when he first reported the news of her death on the air, was the first of many friends and colleagues to share memories of Gonzalez. Beside him was a large portrait of Gonzalez. Photos and video from her life were shown on screens above.

Waddell told the crowd that one of the lessons to take away from her death is, "Don't wait until something terrible happens to tell the people that are important in your life how much you love them."

On Wednesday's 11 p.m. news broadcast he wore a black ribbon with Gonzalez's name -- the ribbons were distributed at the service -- honoring his colleague.

Gonzalez was taking her daughters to see the wildflowers in Death Valley when their car rolled. Sabrina, 8, and Gabriella, 5, survived the accident.

The two girls read a poem addressed to God and dedicated to their mother during the service.

Polly's brother Rodney Gonzalez said education was a priority for his sister and that she set a positive example for everyone who knew her.

He said family was also important to her and that she frequently called on her cell phone.

"That was her lifeboat. That's what she used to stay in touch with us, her family in California. Now I realize she had a really big family here in Las Vegas," Gonzalez said as he surveyed the large turnout.

He told of getting a call from the California Highway Patrol after the accident and thinking it was Polly. He said he wished for one more call.

"Polly, you can call me any time. We're here," he said.

The principal of KO Knudson Middle School spoke of Gonzalez's volunteer work at the school, and the school's choir sang a song in her honor.

Proclamations by the Clark County Commission and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., honoring Gonzalez were read.

Earlier in the day the Las Vegas City Council had informally decided to name a future park after Gonzalez.

Colleagues from Gonzalez's years of news anchoring remembered her as a hard-working journalist who cared about her friends and community.

"Speedy G with her hair on fire, that was Polly," friend and Channel 8 weather anchor Sherry Swensk said.

"I think the thing that stood out most about Polly, mi amiga, is that she just wanted her life to make a difference."

Waddell said the station has been inundated with thousands of e-mails of sympathy after Gonzalez's death. At one point the volume was so heavy that it jammed the station's computer site.

Waddell also noted that tens of thousands of dollars have been donated to a scholarship fund for her daughters.

Viewers who came Wednesday as mourners said Gonzalez's death was a terrible surprise.

"I was just devastated. I couldn't believe it could happen out of nowhere," Mona Burns said.

Her husband, Jim Burns, recalled the emotional broadcast when Waddell delivered the news of her death.

"You could see the tears welling in his eyes," he said.

The Burns said they were struck by Gonzalez's sincerity. They said they once saw her in person at a Costco store, a place mentioned in many recollections of Gonzalez. "She looked up at me and waved. She was just a nice, genuine, outgoing person," Mona Burns said.

The Sarkisian family attended because of the effect Gonzalez had on their lives as news subjects when sisters Emma and Mariam Sarkisian were nearly deported to their homeland of Armenia earlier this year.

"We were just thankful for her that she spent so much time on our story," Rouben Sarkisian said through translation by his daughter.