Longtime CBC Vancouver weather forecaster Phil Reimer dead at 84
Reimer estimated he had delivered about 75,000 weather forecasts in his career
Longtime CBC weather forecaster Phil Reimer has died at the age of 84.
Reimer worked at CBC News for more than two decades. He also worked at CKWX, CKNW and the Vancouver Sun.
His children say Reimer died at Vancouver General Hospital on Wednesday surrounded by loved ones.
Gloria Macarenko, host of CBC's On The Coast and Reimer's former on-air colleague, shared her condolences with his family.
"Anyone who knew Phil will remember his warm smile, his countless stories, his never-ending projects and his constant optimism," she said.
"I will certainly treasure memories of times that I spent with him and I will miss him dearly."
Born in Winnipeg, Reimer left school in Grade 10 for an all-night disc jockey job at a radio station in Victoria.
He worked as a sportscaster in Winnipeg, even playing in a CFL game with the city's Blue Bombers.
"I just got beat up," he told the Vancouver Sun of his time as an embedded reporter.
He spent part of the 1970s selling tours to Elvis Presley concerts, and returned to broadcasting following the singer's death in 1977.
Ahead of his final weather report for CKNW in 2006, Reimer told the Vancouver Sun that he had delivered about 75,000 forecasts in his career.
"How many people blame me for the weather? About the same amount," he joked.
Reimer told the Sun that one of the jobs of a weather forecaster is to keep things simple.
"You have to relate to your audience. Don't get too scientific," he said. "Weather is probably one of the most relevant parts of any newscast. It determines what people do for the next 24 hours."
A little humour also helped.
According to a 1981 Vancouver Sun article, Reimer once "had a sandwich board made with 'I'm Phil Reimer' on one side and 'No, I can't do anything about it' on the other."
With files from Dan Burritt