Former ABC7 Inland Empire bureau chief Bob Banfield died on Thursday from cancer at the age of 82.

Banfield, who retired in May 2010, spent 43 years at ABC7. In 1980, Banfield was assigned to the Inland Empire Bureau where he spent the last 30 years of his professional career.

“I prefer it here and I knew that I would be a little more comfortable because I always found the big city intimidating a little bit, it frightened me a little bit. For some reason, I don’t know, the small-town kid never got over that,” said Banfield on the Inland Empire.

A native of East Liverpool, Ohio, Banfield was a junior announcer at WOHI. Following a stop at WHIZ in Zanesville, Ohio, Banfield would join the ABC7 staff on May 26, 1967.