Todd Baucher

PARKERSBURG — Todd Baucher, a local TV reporter whose career spanned more than four decades, passed away Friday at age 67.

His passing came as a surprise to retired WTAP sports editor Jim Wharton, a longtime colleague.

“This was out of the blue,” he said.

Wharton said he last saw Baucher at WTAP’s 70th anniversary banquet in November.

“He was in good spirits and was enjoying retirement. He’d moved to Lancaster to be in between Columbus and Athens,” he said.

According to WTAP, Baucher joined the station in 1980 and remained there until his retirement on Dec. 31, 2021.

“He covered all the major stories in this area from fires to presidential visits. He was our station’s go-to reporter,” Wharton said.

Longtime station manager Roger Sheppard described Baucher as dedicated, with a “wonderful, open personality.”

“Todd has been a friend and co-worker for more than 40 years,” he said. “I’m going to miss him terribly.”

Baucher was a resource for everyone at WTAP, Sheppard said, but especially new reporters unfamiliar with the area. If they had to cover an ongoing story, they were often directed to get the background on the issue from Baucher so they were prepared.

“He had an incredibly agile mind for details and history,” Sheppard said. “He was a walking encyclopedic resource for all of our young reporters.”

WTAP News Director Phil Hickman recalled Baucher being a mentor to him when he joined the station in 2001.

“Not many people in the industry taught me more than he did,” Hickman said. “He was always working at it, telling a story right. He wanted to be the best journalist he could be.”

Wharton shared a favorite memory he had of Baucher.

“One of our photographers was covering a fire. Todd tapped him on the shoulder and said, ‘That’s not a fire,'” he recalled. “The photographer said, ‘What did you mean it’s not a fire?’ Todd said the fire department is doing a practice fire today.”

Wharton said he always respected his colleague’s work ethic.

“He was across the room from me. If I heard something on the police scanner, I’d let him know,” he said.

“He was very well read. He would report both sides and be fair. His reporting was, ‘this is the facts as I know them,'” Wharton said.

Hickman said Baucher was a valuable presence, both on- and off-screen.

“He meant a lot of things to a lot of people,” Hickman said, “He was one of a kind. You don’t meet anyone like him that often.”

Staff reporter Evan Bevins contributed to this story.

Kristen Hainkel can be reached at khainkel@newsandsentinel.com.