A well-known journalist and news pioneer who called Eastern Carolina home has died.
Roy Hardee passed away Thursday morning. Hardee covered news in Eastern Carolina for more than five decades.
He worked as a reporter, a photojournalist and managed news departments at two television stations here in Eastern Carolina. Hardee worked at both WITN and WNCT as news director. He worked at WITN twice…first from 1972 to 1982 as news director and again in 1998 and 1999 as a news manager at our Greenville Bureau.
Hardee’s dedication to broadcasting resulted in the North Carolina Associated Press naming an award in his honor. He was also named news director of the year at the Radio and Television News Directors Association of the Carolinas in 1996.
Hardee was married to Margaret Hardee, who was director of the Pitt County Board of Elections for many years.
His son says his father died early Thursday morning at a hospice in Kansas City. Lee Hardee said his father had been suffering from complications from advanced Parkinson's disease.
Roy Hardee died in his wife's arms. Our thoughts are with his family.
