A lawmaker from Lackawanna County has died.
Sid Michaels Kavulich represented the 114th District of the state House of Representatives since he was elected in 2010.
Kavulich was admitted to the hospital earlier this month to undergo heart valve replacement surgery.
Family members say he died after suffering complications from that surgery.
Kavulich represented the 114th Legislative District for the past eight years. The district includes parts of Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties.
Before he became a lawmaker, Kavulich worked for former state Senator Bob Mellow.
Many may remember Kavulich best as Sid Michaels, a news and sports reporter who worked for radio and television stations in Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties for decades.
He worked mainly as a sports anchor at WBRE and WYOU-TV for more than 25 years.
Sid Michaels Kavulich was 62 years old. He is survived by his wife Linda, and their three children.
Governor Wolf has ordered state flags across the commonwealth be lowered to half-staff until the day of the Kavulich’s burial. Funeral arrangments have not yet been announced.
From his biography on the State House website:
Born and raised in Taylor, Rep. Kavulich is a 1974 graduate of Riverside High School, and furthered his education at Williamsport Area Community College, where he earned an associate's degree in broadcasting.
Upon graduation, he worked for several Northeastern Pennsylvania radio stations, including WCDL in Carbondale, WICK, and WEJL/ROCK 107 in Scranton. In 1981, he began a television career that would bring him into the homes of Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania for more than 25 years, working with WBRE-TV and WYOU-TV.
He has written, edited and produced broadcast presentations which featured such honored sports figures as Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and former heavyweight boxing champions Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Joe Frazier, and Mike Tyson. He has been widely recognized for his coverage of nearly every major sporting event in the world, including baseball's World Series, Major League Baseball's All-Star Game, the Super Bowl, NASCAR's Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, PGA Championship and several world boxing championship fights.
Rep. Kavulich has also served as general manager of St. Ann's Media at St. Ann's Basilica in Scranton, helping to bring the broadcast of the Roman Catholic Mass to national television audience via the Charlotte, N.C.-based Inspiration Network, the only Catholic Mass broadcast on that particular network. He also helped to trace the historic journey of the late Pope John Paul II in the Middle East Holy Land region, broadcasting from the sites visited by the pope.
He is involved with several civic organizations, including Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Scranton, where he served as president. He is also a member of Broadway Theatre League of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Abington Rotary, and the Stephanie Jallen Group.
