Ruschell Boone, an acclaimed, award-winning reporter, and anchor for NY1 in New York City has died after succumbing to complications from pancreatic cancer, the Associated Press reports. She was 48 years old.

In a statement, NY1 confirmed Boone’s passing and fondly remembered her as one of the shining stars of the station.

“We have some deeply sad and personal news to report. Ruschell Boone, an Emmy award-winning journalist and our beloved colleague here at NY1, passed away Sunday due to complications related to pancreatic cancer,” the station’s statement read. “For 21 years, Ruschell was a member of our staff, as well as a friend and mentor to many.”

“Every New Yorker’s story starts somewhere, and Ruschell West’s story began in Kingston, Jamaica, where she spent her early childhood before immigrating to the Bronx with her family when she was 11 years old,” the statement continued.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams also paid tribute to Boone in a statement from his office.

“We are all better people because we had a wonderful, wonderful person who reported to us and showed us that no matter how much pain you have you can turn it into a purpose,” Adams said. “You never saw her frowning. She didn’t say ‘Woe is me.’ She said ‘Why not me. I want to inspire others.”

Boone launched her career in journalism in an unusual way. She planned to earn a degree in accounting from City University of New York (CUNY) Baruch College to ensure she could get a good job. But during her senior year, she discovered her love for journalism after filling in as a guest for a segment on the college’s radio station.

After graduation, she went on to work as a business news associate for CNBC, an associate producer and assignment editor for CNN, before joining NY1 in 2002.

Throughout her remarkable career, Boone covered New Year’s Eve at Times Square, the 2016 bombing in Chelsea, and the 2018 upset primary election victory of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Among the accolades that Boone garnered as a journalist was Best Spot News Reporting from the New York Association of Black Journalists, a New York Press Club Award for Best Feature Reporting, and a New York Emmy Award for a series for New York: Unfiltered.

Her most recent assignment was NY1’s News All Day program at noon.

Following her cancer diagnosis in June 2022, Boone took a leave of absence until March 2023 to undergo chemotherapy treatments.

In July, she announced on X, formerly Twitter, that her cancer had worsened.

“I’m very touched by all who reached out to see how I’m doing. Unfortunately, my cancer has metastasized in my liver and I’m back in treatment. It’s rough, but the chemo is working. Prayers have carried me through the difficult moments. Thank u for rooting for me,”  Boone wrote.

In an email on Tuesday, Mike Bair, executive vice president of Spectrum News, said that Boone “confronted her illness with a sense of purpose and openness that was nothing less than awe-inspiring.”

“Ruschell’s fierce determination was apparent in everything she did,” Bair wrote. “She was a dedicated and principled journalist to the very end — in her last week with us, she was still working on ideas for her show and sharing thoughts for making NY1 a continued beacon of truth.”

Boone is survived by her husband, Todd Boone, and her two sons Carter and Jackson.