After 31 years, KPNX Anchor Lin Sue Cooney told viewers she is signing off from the station and leaving TV news.

The longtime news anchor, who started at the station in 1984 made the announcement during the 6 p.m. news broadcast Wednesday.

She says she will be joining the executive team at Hospice of the Valley.

"I will miss all the beautiful people I work with here, because they are family to me," Cooney said during the broadcast. "But, I am thrilled to be embracing a new season in my life. So many people have helped me along the way, I am anxious to start giving back and use the gifts God gave me to help others. ...

"The reason I've been able to sit in this chair for the last 31 years is because you supported me, loyally watching this newscast. I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart."

During an interview after the broadcast, Cooney said that she had been considering a move for five or six years, because she wants to spend more time with her two children. "My family, I have to make them my priority," she said. "The clock is ticking."

We will sincerely miss Lin Sue in our newsroom every day," John Misner KPNX GM said in a statement. "She is beloved not only by her co-workers but by Arizonans who invite her into their living room each night. While we know that it's our loss, we appreciate how impactful she will be in her new role."

Any chance she will return to TV news? "I don't doubt it," she said of her decision. "I'm not going to look backwards at all."

H/T Arizona Republic