Emmy Award-winning TV journalist Leslie Griffith joined KTVU in 1986.

Emmy Award-winning TV journalist Leslie Griffith, who most notably anchored the Ten O'clock News on KTVU Channel 2, died at the age of 66 on Aug. 10 in Lake Chapala, Mexico, where she had home, KTVU reported.

A family member told KTVU that Griffith died "from the effects of Lyme Disease since she was bitten by a tick while living in Oregon in 2015."

KTVU 10 p.m. news anchors from left: Bill Martin, Dennis Richmond (seated), Mark Ibanez, Leslie Griffith (seated). 

Born in Texas, Griffith started her journalism career as a newspaper reporter for the Associated Press and Denver Post. She joined KTVU in 1986 as a weekend reporter and anchor, and with her alto voice and steadfast reporting, she worked her way up to become an influential force in Bay Area journalism, the East Bay Times reported. She replaced Elaine Corral on the Ten O'clock News in 1998, becoming a staple on the program as Dennis Richmond's co-anchor. She resigned from KTVU in 2006.

Many honored Griffith in social media and expressed anguish over her passing. "Sad news," KTVU reporter Sal Castaneda wrote on Twitter. "Long-time KTVU anchor Leslie Griffith has died. I thought it was a big deal when I started working with her and Dennis."

"This hurts my heart," CNN correspondent Sara Sinder wrote. "She had such a wild & wonderful personality. She stood up for good reporting on so many occasions. She stood up for me on occasion too. She was a force of nature."

This photo is from 1990, early in Leslie Griffith's KTVU tenure, when she was a weekend anchor. She later took over the 10 p.m. news spot co-anchoring with Dennis Richmond.

"Leslie Griffith was a consummate professional," wrote KTVU reporter Greg Liggins. "During my first stint at @KTVU in the 90s, my first chance to sit on the anchor desk was to fill-in for Leslie, who then solo-anchored weekends. They were big shoes to fill!"

Liggins added: "She was professional, engaging, and adored by her audience. Leslie performed journalism the right way, focused on the story. She will forever remain part of a lengthy list of talent that made KTVU a destination station for news. RIP, Leslie."

John Sasaki worked with Griffith for 10 years, starting in 1986, when she was the weekend anchor he was the weekend nightside reporter.

"As a reporter, she led with passion for the craft, for getting the story, for pursuing what is right," Sasaki, who is now the public information officer for the Oakland Unified School District, wrote in an email to SFGATE. "Her focus on animal welfare is the most prominent example, as she worked for years to highlight the mistreatment of elephants in circuses and elsewhere." 

Amy Graff is the news editor for SFGATE. She was born and raised in the Bay Area and got her start in news at the Daily Californian newspaper at UC Berkeley where she majored in English literature. She has been with SFGATE for more than 10 years. You can email her at agraff@sfgate.com.