Tracy Barry, the personable anchor of KGW's early evening newscasts, is retiring from the NBC affiliate. She announced the news on Facebook, where fans and well-wishers left hundreds of comments and shared the post more than 100 times in the hours after Barry posted.

Her last day at the station will be Oct. 12.

"I didn't want to leave without saying thank you," Barry wrote. "It has been an honor and a privilege to bring you the news all these years, to share this beloved place with you. We have been through a lot together."

Her departure follows that of Joe Donlon, another longtime KGW anchor who left Portland to work at WGN-TV in Chicago earlier this year.

Barry started with KGW in 1985. In the 33 years she's worked for the station, the Washington State University graduate earned a reputation for her affable approach with interview subjects and a social media presence that's both light and personal.

Joe Donlon and Tracy Barry in 2005.

In 2011, Barry was one of nine local journalists from across the U.S. invited to the White House to interview President Barack Obama, who was at the time pushing a $447-billion jobs plan.

She's also long moderated political debates for KGW, most recently Portland's 2016 mayoral contest between Ted Wheeler and Jules Bailey and the same year's gubernatorial contest between Kate Brown and Bud Pierce.

Barry in 2009 received Silver Circle Honors from the Northwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which runs the regional Emmys contests. She's also been inducted into the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication Hall of Achievement at WSU.

Earlier this year, at 60, Barry got her first-ever tattoo and broadcast the process during a KGW report. Her ink -- that of a pair of bracelets, one of which is made of red string -- symbolizes the bond she shares with daughters Jayde and Grace, who she and husband Larry adopted 19 years ago.

Barry didn't give a reason for her departure in her farewell note.

"I do not have the gift of predicting the future," she wrote, "but I never sell tomorrow short. I know it's a gift, not a promise and I plan to make the most of it."

You can read her full note below:

--Eder Campuzano | 503.221.4344

ecampuzano@oregonian.com