Retired Columbus newscaster Chuck Leonard enters hospice care
Chuck Leonard, who for 38 years was a beloved newscaster at WTVM in Columbus, is receiving hospice care.
His wife, Carole Mashburn, announced the news Tuesday night on her Facebook page.
“We arrived about 3:00 to Columbus Hospice,” wrote Mashburn, a retired Muscogee County School District teacher. “Chuck said the ambulance ride was ok. His room is very nice and even has a little patio. There are several beautiful living rooms where groups can visit. He has a wreath on his door but I’m going to have to find some Christmas decorations.”
In a Dec. 11 post, while Leonard was a patient at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Mashburn wrote, “Please no flowers or food baskets. Chuck would really love cards and well wishes.”
Leonard, whose legal name is Charles “Charlie” Mashburn, retired from WTVM six years ago at the age of 65.
“There are a lot of people all around Columbus and the area who have Chuck in their prayers right now,” former WTVM sports director Dave Platta told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Wednesday. “He means a lot to this community because he’s done so much for everyone.”
Platta recalled a Tuesday meeting with somebody who mentioned that she was one of the high school students on the “Head to Head” quiz show Leonard used to host.
“When you show up in people’s living rooms every day for four decades, you become everyone’s next door neighbor,” Platta said. “And Chuck has been a great neighbor and a valued friend for a whole lot of people. That happens when you do things the right way for the right reasons.
“He’s a good guy and a class act, and I feel lucky that I had a chance to work with him. He’s in my prayers, too.”
And those prayers and other messages, along with visits, are lifting Leonard and his family, Mashburn said Wednesday.
“It’s just been a blessing,” she told the Ledger-Enquirer. “It’s been a blessing to know that so many people care, and we’re just so thankful.”
Leonard is sedated, Mashburn said, but she welcomes visitors. Messages can be sent to the family through her Facebook page, she said.
A combination of problems with his kidneys, heart and liver led to his health decline, Mashburn said.
“It’s not as much time as we hoped,” she said, “but he’s still getting to see people, and that’s good.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2025 at 3:41 PM.
