Long before Lester’s comforting presence was coming into our homes every night, he met a flight attendant named Carol Hagen, according to SacTown Magazine. The couple started dating, but it wasn’t long before the local news station Lester was working for near Napa Valley, Calif., asked him to cover a forest fire. He invited Carol to come along.

“I thought, ‘Wow, I’ve never been invited to go on a breaking news story before,’” she recounted. “‘A forest fire — that could be considered a hot date!’ So I said, ‘I’m game.’” Carol added, “I guess I knew what I was getting myself into with Lester and his career.”

Lester and Carol got married in 1981 and are still together.