BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Shawna Lidsky, a longtime sports anchor who later founded the Vermont Brownie Company, died Friday morning after battling cancer for more than five years.
Lidsky was fresh-faced and feisty the minute she walked through the doors at WCAX in 1998. She quickly became a top sports reporter in the region, earning an Edward R. Murrow Award and Associated Press awards for her features and sportscasts.
She joined Gary Sadowsky and the late Judy Simpson on the morning show, helping viewers rise and shine. The trio triumphed, helping viewers get their day started. Lidsky took sports seriously, but she was good for a laugh too, and always had her colleagues’ backs.
Lidsky had a zest for life and loved trying new things. She could reel viewers in with her storytelling, and she loved to win, like when she passed colleague Mike McGill in a race at Thunder Road.
Lidsky baked up a company in 2008. The Vermont Brownie Company became wildly successful for Lidsky shortly after she left WCAX. She gained national fame for defeating celebrity chef Bobby Flay on his Food Network show in 2010.
In January 2021, Lidsky was diagnosed with cancer. She fought the illness for five and a half years. Her battle ended Friday morning, just shy of her 51st birthday.
Lidsky leaves behind her husband, two sons, family, and friends.
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