Emily Matson, 42, smiled ear-to-ear as she held a glass of wine and helped her mother, Patricia, cook on Dec. 8.
“Teaching Emily how to make sauce and lasagna last Friday,” Patricia Matson said of her daughter in a Facebook post on Tuesday. “She was so happy and proud …she wanted her picture taken to show her brother Travis that she made lasagna just for him!”
The mother-daughter duo even discussed Christmas gifts, which the news anchor seemed eager to celebrate.
“I mentioned getting her a lasagna pan for Christmas and she said she would love a lasagna pan for Christmas!,” Patricia Matson concluded.
The newly revealed photos were posted hours before the Erie County Coroner’s Office ruled Matson’s death as a suicide.
Erie County officials received a call on Dec. 11 around 12:45 a.m. that an individual was hit by a train in Fairview Township, where Matson lived, according to Erie Times-News.
In a separate post, Matson’s mother shared another photo of her daughter smiling alongside her husband, Ryan, as they sat at a table in Cabo San Lucas.
Meanwhile, Matson’s brother, Travis, had revealed he’d already purchased her “Secret Santa” gifts.
Matson’s grieving daughter also honored the news anchor in a heartbreaking tribute.
“The most beautiful person I know, inside and out,” Emily Onderko wrote in a Facebook post alongside her and her mother on a beach
Matson, a 19-year news veteran who most recently was the Erie News Now news anchor for the 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. slots, was remembered by her colleagues as a “shining light” in her newsroom.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of our beloved Erie News Now news anchor Emily Matson,” Lilly Broadcasting, the parent company of Erie News Now, said in a statement, announcing Matson’s death.
“Emily was a shining light in our newsroom, delivering news with a passion and love she had for the Erie community and Northwest Pennsylvania.
“It is with a very heavy heart that we have learned of the passing of our beloved Erie News Now news anchor Emily Matson,” Lilly Broadcasting, the parent company of Erie News Now, said in a statement, announcing Matson’s death.
One of Matson’s former colleagues remembered her as a “voice of reason and fiercely loyal friend.”
“She was a voice of reason, the brightest light, an insanely hard worker, a goofball and your biggest cheerleader,” Tennessee’s WVLT anchor and reporter Christyn Allen wrote on Instagram.
“She was a fiercely loyal friend, and if you were lucky enough to be one of her people, you’d hit the jackpot. She always made sure her people were taken care of. I’m so thankful our paths crossed, and we never lost touch.”
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.