Wichita television reporter inspired others through her story, Kansas sayings

Denise Franklin was a no-holds-barred journalist born for television.

Family members say she loved to talk – so much so that she often talked in her sleep.

“My father would tell me stories about her talking in her sleep and how he would tease her,” said her niece, Ashton McPaul.

Ms. Franklin, a longtime news reporter whose hometown was Wichita, died Tuesday, Oct. 31, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She was 59.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Nov. 7 at the United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.

She was born Sept. 2, 1958 in Germany, where her father was stationed in the military. She attended Woodland Elementary and Marshall Middle School before graduating from West High School in 1976.

“She grew up with my daughters,” said noted architect Charles McAfee. “She and my daughter, Cheryl, were in the same classes.”

In high school, Ms. Franklin was a cheerleader, demonstrating poise, grace and charm in front of large crowds, McPaul said.

“She was a beautiful person inside and out,” McPaul said. “She would definitely tell you how it is but in the most endearing, polite way. She didn’t take it on the chin. She would give you her say-so.”

Ms. Franklin was a Wichita State University graduate. She went to work at KAKE, where she became one of the first African American women in Wichita media before moving to Kansas City.

“She was a great journalist and an incredible woman,” said longtime Wichita journalist Larry Hatteberg. “I shot many stories for her … she left an indelible image. It was an honor to know her.”

After Kansas City, she went to WXII in Winston-Salem. Her first national news assignment came while covering the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.

“She did news and anchor and lots of commercials and advertising,” McPaul said.

Her aunt was driven by her religious faith throughout her life, McPaul said.

Growing up, she attended Greater St. Mary’s Missionary Baptist Church, where her family often sang and performed during church services. In Winston-Salem, she was a member of United Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church, where she was preparing to give her first sermon later this week, McPaul said.

“She was always involved in ministry,” McPaul said. “She had an inspirational story of how she evolved as a person. Everyone was always so interested in her and where she came from.”

Her friends and fans in Winston Salem thought she had grown up in a small Kansas town.

“She had these quirky sayings, like ‘You can’t slick a can of oil.’ Silly stuff that was not native to the big-city-North Carolina down-south living,” McPaul said. “There, she stood out and had a tiny accent.”

Ms. Franklin is survived by her two children, Michael and Kristy, and two grandchildren.

This story was originally published November 2, 2017 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Wichita television reporter inspired others through her story, Kansas sayings."