Escorted by Radnor Township police with Chopper 6 flying high above, Jim headed to Action News for his final 6 p.m. broadcast on Wednesday.
But for the Action News family, seeing our leader of more than four decades enter for the final time was bittersweet.
"What I need you to know is how much I'm going to miss you," Jim said to our Action News viewers as he concluded his final broadcast.
Viewers gathered outside of our studios beginning at 4 p.m. for a "tailgate" of sorts. Jim even made a special appearance before his final time in the anchor chair.
When he first arrived in Philadelphia as a 27-year-old from a Buffalo TV station, 6abc only did two hours of news a day. The station grew to become the dominant news station in the region.
It was a year ago Jim made the announcement he would retire from the 11 p.m. newscast and hand the reins over to Rick Williams.
He spent the past year still anchoring the 6 p.m. newscast. He will pass that baton to Brian Taff beginning Thursday.
During a farewell to the Action News employees, Jim shared one of the things he'll miss most.
"And I said to my wife today, the thing that I'm really going to have a problem with is that who do I talk to? Who do I interact with? What about human interaction starting tomorrow? It's going to be an adjustment, but you know, we all adjust," he said.
Action News at 6pm - Jim Gardner's final newscast