Wisconsin Morning News Anchor Found Dead Just 6 Weeks Before Her Wedding

A former college basketball player and Wisconsin morning news anchor died suddenly Saturday at the age of 27 in an apparent suicide.

WAOW anchor news Neena Pacholke's death stunned her family and colleagues, and she was remembered for her contagious smile and uplifting demeanor.

Neena Pacholke/Facebook

"Neena Pacholke, our beloved morning anchor passed away suddenly Saturday," 9 WAOW said in a statement. "The entire team here at News 9 are absolutely devastated by the loss as we know so many others are as well."

Neena Pacholke/Facebook

Pacholke, who grew up in Tampa and played basketball for the University of South Florida, was engaged to be married when she died, according to her older sister Kaitlynn Pacholke.

"She was just like a little ball of sunshine, and her smile was massive," Kaitlynn Pacholke said Monday morning. "My sister was by far the happiest person I thought I knew."

Pacholke's final Twitter post was a retweet from author Jon Gordon about optimism and believing the best is yet to come.

Neena Pacholke/Facebook

"We are not positive because life is easy. We are positive because life can be hard," Gordon wrote in the original tweet. "Give yourself (and others) grace. Speak life and encourage others. Look for the good today. Remember your WHY. Believe the best is yet to come."

News 9 and Pacholke's co-anchor also cited Pacholke's smile and bubbly personality in tributes.

Neena Pacholke/Facebook

"She was a kind person with a big heart and a contagious smile and we will miss her greatly," the station said.

Her co-anchor Brendan Mackey said Pacholke was "the brightest light in the room" with the "biggest smile and the funniest laugh."

Neena Pacholke/Facebook

"I have never met anyone in my entire life that is more loved than this girl," Mackey wrote in a tribute post on Facebook. "Everyday she made people smile, whether that was through a tv screen or just being an incredible friend. She was so happy and so full of life and a role model."

Pacholke started as a multimedia journalist at the news station in May 2017 and was promoted to anchor in February 2019, according to her website.

She graduated from the University of South Florida, where she lettered as a point guard for three years.

According to head coach Jose Fernandez, the USF women's basketball team was "devastated" by Pacholke's death.

“Our prayers are with the Pacholke family during this extremely difficult time. Please keep them in your thoughts,” Fernandez said in a statement posted to Twitter.

According to Kaitlynn Pacholke, you can never truly understand what another person is going through.

“Sometimes you just don’t know what people are going through, no matter how much you think you know someone. … My sister had access to every resource you could imagine,” she told the Tampa Bay Times. “She was loved by everybody. She was so good at her job.”

Kaitlynn Pacholke described her younger sister as having the ability to make people feel special and important, whether she had known them for five minutes or her entire life.

“She just radiated love and positivity, and she just cared so much about pouring into other people, and always put other people first,” she told the local Florida paper of her sister. “I think she did that at the expense of not caring about herself.”