We are broadcast journalists.

We sit behind a desk and look into a camera and bring you the news.

If we are very good, you let us into your homes, day after day.

Tim Hedrick was very, very good.

"Doppler" Tim, as we called him, could connect through the camera to fans, and he had lots of them.

They are sharing in our sadness on Sunday, the day after Tim died from complications from prostate cancer at the age of 55.

Tim came to us 28 years ago with what some say are characteristics of an Iowan. He was friendly, unpretentious, and family-oriented.

He fit right in and settled his family on the city's west side.

Viewers immediately got hooked on "Doppler Tim."

"He was Tim, grew up watching him," said Bill Worrell. "His death is as big a shock as when Prince died. He had a big impact on people."

Tim had that impact because, to viewers, he wasn't a TV personality, he was family.

"He felt like came into our home it didn't feel like you were just watching TV," said Valerie Taylor.

Even though Tim did a science segment, he didn't talk like the "science guy," you see, Tim was more like the "guy next door."

"You could believe him telling it like it was, really nice, relatable person," said Susie Collier. "He was so down to earth, made you part of the family."

Tim didn't take himself too seriously, as you can see by the way he decorated the weather center.

He has a helmet that he'd wear to do the Bengal forecasts, a broom for when the Reds sweep a series. He had a bit of everything, from reading glasses to "girl" glasses and everything he could use to make his viewers feel special.

Tim had his own style and he wasn't afraid to put on a show, such as the "Weather Beacon Andrew Sisters Singalong Commercial" from 1987.

But when it came to keeping Greater Cincinnatians safe, Doppler Tim was all business, tracking dangerous weather street by street.

When he followed the path of the deadly tornado that ripped through Holton, Indiana in 2012. Some residents said listening to him saved their lives.

Tim took his "Grillin with Tim" parties to Holton and communities all over the tri state. That was Tim Hedrick at his best. He was welcomed like an old friend stopping by for dinner.

"He was all about Cincinnati, loved the city, you could tell the city meant a lot to him."

Tim did love Cincinnati and Cincinnati loved him.

When he got sick and wasn't on the air, viewers called daily. They worried about the friend they invited into their home each night.

When I last saw Tim in February, I didn't ask him how he was. I knew he wouldn't want that. I did ask about his children. He loved talking about Hannah, Jack, Joe and his wife Cindy, whom he adored. I didn't hug him because it would have felt like goodbye. I wish I had. - Deborah Dixon, Local 12 News