The veteran ESPN broadcaster of over 30 years lived in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, with his wife, Wanda and children.
Basketball analyst, Dick Vitale said Saunders' wife and children were his "pride and joy," in a message he posted to Twitter on Wednesday.
"John Saunders represented everything that was good in a human being. He was all about family and helping people," Vitale told ESPN.
(Instagram)