Longtime KDKA anchor Patrice King Brown retiring

Longtime KDKA-TV news anchor Patrice King Brown is retiring.

"Patrice's desire to have more time to spend with her family and to explore new horizons without the daily constraints of local news has been building for some time," Christopher Pike, the station's vice president and general manager, said Tuesday.

"Patrice has spent most of her adult life at KDKA-TV and has made a significant contribution for more than half of the station's existence. Her warmth and grace have endeared her to viewers and co-workers alike."

Brown said she wants to spend more time with her son, daughter, two brothers and mother who all elsewhere.

"I'm in my 33rd year with the station and I'm looking for a little more flexibility in my life," Brown said. "Most of my family are in California and my daughter is in New York City. I'd like very much to have more opportunities to visit them. I want to spend more time traveling with my husband."

Brown, 56, joined KDKA in October 1978 as co-host of the "Pittsburgh 2Day" talk and variety show before joining the Eyewitness News Team. She and Stacy Smith, her co-anchor on the 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts, won an Emmy for their coverage of the USAir Flight 427 crash in Beaver County in 1994. She and Ken Rice are co-anchors for the 11 p.m. news.

Brown, a native of Sheraden who lives in Gibsonia with her husband, Dr. Paul Nemiroff, said she's anxious to see "what the next chapter" of her life will be.

"I'm not leaving the city, at least not yet. I will spend extended periods out of town but I hope I can continue (at KDKA) doing some special projects."

Brown said there's a sadness about leaving.

"I'll miss my friends here at the station a great deal. I'll also miss doing stories about the people of Pittsburgh. This is my home."

Her last day on the air will be Jan. 28.