Deborah Wrigley signs off after 42 years at ABC13

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The hairstyles have changed. Fashion has certainly changed. Houston has changed.

ABC13's Deborah Wrigley had a front row seat for all of it as one of the longest-tenured broadcast journalists in Texas.

After an iconic career in the Bayou City, Deborah is signing off from ABC13.

Deborah came to work at KTRK-TV on Sept. 5, 1978, after a stint at other outlets, including the Houston News Service.

Deborah earned an English degree at the University of Houston and went on to become a regular fixture on television.

She is the recipient of a Headliners Award for her coverage of the Mexico City earthquake in 1985. Deborah was part of the first crew in the world to get stories out of the area that was rocked by a magnitude 8.0 event.

There have been hurricanes, fires, and most recently, the coronavirus pandemic.

"Often when we show up, it can be the worst day in a person's life," Deborah said as she looked back at her career. "The bottom line to that is you respect that. You respect peoples' circumstances."

She's told the stories of countless folks in our area and, as she gets ready to live out the rest of her own, she reminds us of the empathy we ought to have for every Houstonian's story.

"Everyone has a story," Deborah said. "We all share the same challenges, the same problems, the same hopes and dreams and it's important to make stories come alive through that."

WATCH: Deborah introduces us to Wrigley the Dog during a farewell parade in her honor


Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner even proclaimed Sept. 4, 2020, as Deborah Wrigley Day.

Turner said he'll always remember her for her professionalism.

"Sometimes, the interviewing and the questions were tough on me, but through it all, [Deborah] has always been very, very fair," Turner said. "We just hope and pray that the best days of
Deborah Wrigley and the future will be far, far better than the days that have passed."

Mayor Sylvester Turner declares Deborah Wrigley Day in Houston


Turner celebrates Deborah's decades of covering Houston


WATCH: Here's a story Deborah covered back in 1980 when Houston saw surprise snow!