The last of the Big 3 anchors has signed off the air.

Peter Jennings, ABC News anchor since 1983, died Sunday. He was 67.

In April, Jennings told the world that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer and intended to fight the disease aggressively. He promised to return to his chair anchoring “World News Tonight” on days when he was able. He was never able; the effects of the cancer and chemotherapy kept him off the air.

For the Sun Journal, Jennings’ death reminds us of sad days in our own newsroom. In June 2004, Lisa Giguere, a reporter and editor at the paper for 30 years, died from the same damnable disease, which kills 163,000 people a year.

Jennings, along with NBC’s Tom Brokaw and CBS’s Dan Rather, were nightly fixtures in American homes for decades. Brokaw retired in December, while Rather stepped down under a cloud after broadcasting a story about President Bush, which relied upon fake documents. Together, the three of them led the country through some of its best and worst times, often documenting firsthand the heroism and tragedy of world events.

Despite the fragmentation of media and much talk about alternative sources for information, including Web logs, talk radio and 24-hour cable news channels, on a typical night more than 25 million Americans still turn to the networks for their news. Those viewers are the legacy created, in large part, by three great newsmen.

Keith Olbermann, the host of “Countdown with Keith Olbermann” on MSNBC, described Jennings’ death this way: “The calm, seasoned, assuring voice has been stilled. And for now, at least, there are no others.”