Randy Garsee, former anchor for Tucson CBS affiliate KOLD, died over the weekend at his home in Virginia.

“I’m in shock, as a lot of his friends are. We can’t believe this happened,” said his former co-anchor Kris Pickel. “He was an eloquent man and prolific writer. Just a hell of a guy. I was lucky to be paired up with him.”

Garsee was a news anchor for KOLD from 1997 until 2006 before moving to KTEN in Sherman, TX, and Ada, OK. He then went to work for the U.S. Marine Corps as a public affairs specialist and journalist at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq before taking a job as communications and public affairs officer for the Center for Naval Analyses.

He is remembered by colleagues for his humor and focus, “When he would get into a story, he would really get into it,” said KOLD anchor Scott Kilbury.

According to the Arizona Daily Star, Garsee died in his sleep. He was 50.