A fixture on Sothern Alberta TV screens for more than 50 years, Darrel Janz has died. he was 83.Janz spent decades anchoring the news desk at CFCN, the precursor to CTV.“It is with a heavy heart that we his family announce that our father and Calgary broadcasting legend Darrel Janz, went to be with his Saviour this morning at the age of 83,” read a LinkedIn post from Saturday morning written by family member Shannon Lee Rae.“We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the staff of the Foothills Hospital, especially the Tom Baker Centre,” it read.Janz was raised in the small town of Main Centre, Sask.He spoke about those days in a documentary, A Life in News, that first aired in 2013, produced by longtime CTV colleague, video journalist Kevin Green."Life centred around two things: the church and the school," Janz said in the documentary.After going to high school in the nearby town of Herbert before going to teachers' college in Regina.A year later he started his broadcasting career at CFAM Radio in Altona, Man."On June 29, I handed out my kids' report cards and started my career on Dominion Day 1962," he said."I got to do a bit of everything where I met a lot of people who later on became prominent in Saskatchewan news," Darrel said of those days.janz eventually moved to Calgary to CFCN."I signed a five-year contract and was thinking that would be enough. Then it would be time to head to Toronto to the big show," Darrel said in the 2013 documentary."I have stayed and have no regrets about it whatsoever because I couldn't have thought about a better place to make my career than here," he said.From 1973 to 1987, he anchored the news at 6 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.From 1987 to 2010, he co-anchored the six o'clock news, including 21 years with Barb Higgins.He was a also broadcast journalism instructor at SAIT for 11 years and at Mount Royal College for 15 years."After his longtime co-anchor Barb Higgins left CTV Calgary to run for mayor in 2010, Darrel moved off the main anchor desk and back to his roots as a reporter," CTV reported Saturday.He launched the weekly "Inspired" series, profiling more than 650 exceptional Albertans."It's been such a joy doing that for 13 years and meeting so many amazing people," Darrel said in 2023.
