Richard Cohen, award-winning journalist and Meredith Vieira's husband, dies at 76

The longtime Univision news anchor unexpectedly passed away after a two-month battle with pneumonia. He was 76 years old.

He lived through two episodes of cancer.

Cohen had been married to his wife for nearly forty years, and they have three children together: 36-year-old Benjamin, 34-year-old Gabriel, and their 32-year-old daughter Lily.

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Cohen was a journalist, having received three Emmy awards while working with CBS News, and later joining CNN. He also worked for both PBS and ABC.

I can rattle off a long list of things I've lost the ability to do. You just have to come to terms with that. I look at our three kids, our relationship, and think about all the books I've written – what do I really have to complain about?

Cohen also worked as a health columnist for The New York Times and wrote several books, including one about his own experiences with health issues and another about five people managing various chronic health conditions.

What is MS?

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a long-term condition that causes the protective covering of the nerves to break down, leading to numbness and impairing the ability to walk and see properly.

Cohen told Vieira about his sight loss from Multiple Sclerosis on their second date, as noted in a "Today" report.

"I shared my health issues with her, remembering that it's best to discuss my concerns directly and openly, and surprisingly she didn't flinch," he said.

His impact lives on beyond his extensive career in journalism, but also in shedding light on conversations about living with chronic health conditions.

I believe a lot of people are too discreet and don't speak their minds, he stated on the show "Today" in 2014.

In addition to his journalism awards, Cohen was awarded an honorary degree in humanities from the Mount Sinai Hospital School of Medicine at New York, he received the 2009 AARP Inspire Award and a committee seat on the advisory board of the Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center.

Vieira left "Today" in 2011, citing the need to spend more time with her loved ones as a major reason.

She mentioned that time is a unique thing, something which cannot be had, and it's constantly moving forward. She expressed her desire during that time to spend more of it with her husband, Richard, and her children.

This piece was first published by USA TODAY: