Venerable Spokane broadcaster Randy Shaw battling cancer, closes restaurant

Randy Shaw, who appeared on nightly newscasts in Spokane for three decades, is battling cancer after moving to Arizona just a few months ago to run a restaurant with his wife.

Shaw, who after stints with KHQ and KREM is the longest-serving TV news broadcaster in Spokane’s history, said Friday he was receiving rounds of chemotherapy at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, in anticipation of “major surgery.”

“I’m in great hands,” Shaw said. “I don’t want anyone to worry about me.”

Shaw moved to Chandler, Arizona, to be with his wife, Suki, after his retirement from KREM in September. He’d been diagnosed before moving, he said, but the illness has progressed. The couple announced this week plans to close the barbecue restaurant they’d opened in nearby Casa Grande because of Shaw’s treatment.

“She’s been putting in 15-hour days,” Shaw said of his wife. “It just became impossible.”

In addition to his long journalism career, Shaw supported the Inland Northwest Honor Flight program that allows war veterans to visit memorials in Washington, D.C., and briefly considered a foray into politics.

He attended high school in Arizona and had always planned to retire there, he said.

Shaw said he’s ready for surgery so that he can return to enjoying his retirment with his wife.

“All through life, you have obstacles,” Shaw said. “This is just another one.”