BOTHELL, Wash. -- We often say the news business is its own tight-knit family. It s an industry in Seattle where everyone knows each other. On Saturday, friends and family mourned the loss of KOMO-TV photographer Bill Strothman who was killed in a helicopter crash nearly two weeks ago. He was 62.
Hundreds gathered for the funeral at Bothell First Lutheran. Many said their hearts break for Seattle. We lost a photojournalist who better than most, could capture the essence of our city's stories. Our hearts break for his son Dan who followed in his father's footsteps and became a fellow KOMO photographer.
Srothman and the pilot, Gary Pfitzner, 59, died after their helicopter went out of control moments after taking off from the KOMO helipad. It crashed and burned just feet from the Seattle Center. It might be a year before authorities figure out exactly what happened.
Strothman worked for decades at KOMO, earning 13 Emmy awards during his career, even winning the title of Regional Television Photographer of the Year.
Strothman loved news so much that even after retiring from KOMO, he worked as a freelancer and also as an employee of the helicopter leasing company that operates the KOMO news chopper.
He is survived by his wife Nora, daughter Heidi, and his son Dan.
