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State Rep. Sid Michaels Kavulich, a former sportscaster at WBRE-TV 28/WYOU-TV 22, died Tuesday from complications of open heart surgery. He was 62.
His daughter, Loni Loiselle, confirmed Kavulich’s death on Facebook.
“It truly breaks my heart to write this. At 5:46 this morning my father was called home. He suffered a severe and what now would be fatal complication that he would not come back from,” Loiselle posted.
Kavulich underwent surgery to place an aortic valve earlier this month at a hospital in Philadelphia. During the procedure, surgeons encountered complications during the surgery related to an aortic aneurysm a decade ago.
In honor of Kavulich, Gov. Tom Wolf ordered the Commonwealth flat at the Capitol complex and throughout all public buildings and grounds lowered at half-staff.
“Rep. Kavulich was passionate about life, whether it be sports or public service,” Wolf stated. “The people of Northeastern Pennsylvania have lost a dedicated community advocate and we all have lost a tremendous friend. Our thoughts are with Sid’s family, especially Linda and his children, and all of his colleagues and constituents.”
Kavulich, known by his broadcast name Sid Michaels, teamed with Jim Miller for nearly two decades reporting local and national sports for WBRE and later under a mutual agreement, WYOU, in 1998.
Kavulich and Miller joined WBRE on the same day in 1981 and retired together in 1999. Miller passed away in June 2016.
“To those of us who had the privilege of working with Sid, he was much more than a colleague. He was family. He was supportive and quick-witted and left an indelible mark on us all. We are absolutely heartbroken,” said WBRE anchor/health reporter Mark Hiller. “Sid genuinely cared about the athletes he covered and the communities in which they competed during his nearly two decades at WBRE. He led the way in the 1980s to provide the first local television coverage of NASCAR in northeastern and central Pennsylvania.”
“He loved doing sports, was incredibly knowledgeable at it, did it well and always made it look effortless,” said Kathy Bozinski, a former anchor/reporter at WBRE. “And it was always about the athletes, always about the kids, advocating for them, telling their stories. That’s why he was such a good team with my other treasured friend, Jim Miller.”
Bozinski said Kavulich would often call Miller “Dad,” and in return Miller would call Kavulich “Son.”
“I know Sid was devastated when we lost Jim a few years ago. One of my first thoughts this morning was that they were together again,” Bozinski said.
Kavulich, D-Taylor, was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2010, representing the 114th legislative district in Lackawanna County. He leaves behind a wife, Linda, and three children, Loni, Ariel and Zachary.
