Writers We've Lost

Raul Salinas

2008-05-13T03:29:51Z

Raul Salinas, a poet, teacher, activist and ex-con, died on Feb. 13 of liver cancer. He was 73. Salinas served three prison terms in four states over the course of 15 years, mostly for drug-related charges. But it was behind bars that he found an outlet in writing. He wrote a column about jazz called "The Quarter Note" for a prison newspaper and later turned to poetry. Salinas also opened a book store in Austin, Texas, and founded the Red Salmon Arts, an organization that fosters art and protest.

Tama McAleese

2008-05-13T03:27:04Z

Tama S. McAleese, an author and radio host, died on Feb. 13 of a heart attack. She was 66. McAleese penned eight books on money management, including "Money Power for Families" and "Winning the Money Game: No-Nonsense Answers for You and Your Money." She also taught listeners of her Saturday morning radio show on WHK AM/1220 how to "Get Rich Slow."

Russ Flanagan

2008-04-21T14:54:43Z

Russell J. Flanagan, a reporter for the Express-Times in Pennsylvania, died on Feb. 5 of a previously unknown heart condition. He was 33. Flanagan covered the courts and police beat since 2003 and helped write the newspaper's "Law and Order" blog.

Sam Boyle

2008-04-05T20:25:03Z

Samuel J. Boyle, a veteran journalist who spent two decades as the chief of The Associated Press' New York City bureau, died on Feb. 3 of lung cancer. He was 59. Boyle coordinated thousands of stories at the AP, including the Bernard Goetz subway shootings, the rise and fall of mobster John Gotti, City Hall under mayors Ed Koch, David Dinkins and Rudolph Giuliani, the crash of TWA Flight 800 and the World Trade Center attacks in 1993 and 2001. After retiring in 2004, Boyle taught fundamental writing and reporting at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and worked as an editor for the Columbia News Service.

Mark Schwed

2008-04-01T12:34:52Z

Mark Schwed, a news and feature writer for The Palm Beach Post in Florida, died on Jan. 31. Cause of death was not released. He was 52. Schwed previously worked as a writer for TV Guide and as a TV reporter on E! and the TV Guide Channel.

Millie Bingham

2008-04-01T12:33:55Z

Millie Bingham, an award-winning columnist for the Dayton Daily News in Ohio, died on Jan. 31. Cause of death was not released. She was 82. Bingham began her consumer advice column, "Common Cents," in 1972 under the pseudonym of Kate McQueen. She also penned the popular household hints column, "Ask Millie B.," which ran in the newspaper from 1980 until her retirement in 2005. Bingham was married to journalist Ted Bingham, who was the former editorial writer and editor for the Springfield News-Sun and the Dayton Journal Herald.

Robert Henry

2008-03-28T17:13:04Z

Robert Derrick Henry, an obituary writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, died on Jan. 29 of complications from an inoperable tumor. He was 58. Henry was hired in 1985 to be the newspaper's classical music critic. He later covered the religion and nonprofit beats before moving to the obit desk.

Margaret Truman

2008-03-26T14:38:00Z

Mary Margaret Truman, a singer, actress, radio and TV personality and mystery novelist, died on Jan. 29. Cause of death was not released. She was 83. The only child of former President Harry S. Truman, Margaret published an autobiography in 1956, a book on White House pets and a biography of her father. But she found a huge audience of readers by writing D.C.-based mysteries. Truman was married to journalist Clifton Daniel, who later became managing editor of The New York Times.

Sandra Harvey

2008-03-24T23:42:37Z

Sandra Harvey, an Australian journalist and crime author, died on Jan. 21 of cancer. She was 49. Harvey contributed articles to the ABC, the Australian Associated Press, the Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian. She also wrote a number of highly acclaimed nonfiction books about crime, including "Brothers in Arms," which remained in print for 19 years.

Frances Lewine

2008-03-20T14:50:23Z

Frances L. Lewine, an assignment editor and field producer for CNN, died on Jan. 19 after an apparent stroke. She was 86. As a White House correspondent for The Associated Press, Lewine covered six presidential administrations (Eisenhower to Carter), and was considered by many to be a pioneer for women in journalism. She was best known for participating in a class-action lawsuit against the AP that resulted in a $2 million settlement and forced changes in the wire service's policies on salaries, assignments, promotions, pensions and hiring. Lewine was elected to the Washington Society of Professional Journalists' Hall of Fame and to the Hunter College Hall of Fame, her alma mater.

Ugo Pirro

2008-03-13T00:07:36Z

Ugo Pirro, an Italian author and screenwriter, died on Jan. 18. Cause of death was not released. He was 87. Pirro penned the screenplays for "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" and "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis," both of which won Academy Awards for best foreign language film. His autobiography, "Just a Name on the Credit Titles," was published in 1998.

Edward D. Hoch

2008-03-09T02:08:10Z

Edward Dentinger Hoch, a prolific mystery writer, died on Jan. 17 of a heart attack. He was 77. Hoch published more than 900 short stories, and had a story placed in Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine every month for 33 years. He also wrote several novels and edited the "Best Detective Stories of the Year" and "The Year's Best Mystery & Suspense Stories." In 2001, he received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America.

Joseph Champlin

2008-03-09T02:06:20Z

Joseph M. Champlin, a Catholic priest and author, died on Jan. 17 of bone marrow cancer. He was 77. Champlin wrote more than 60 books and pamphlets on liturgy, pastoral theology, love and marriage. He was also a regular guest on the "Seize the Day With Gus Lloyd" show on Sirius Radio.

Hone Tuwhare

2008-03-01T13:57:52Z

Hone Tuwhare, one of the first Maori poets to be published in English, died on Jan. 16. Cause of death was not released. He was 86. Tuwhare's work spanned more than 40 years, and earned him two Montana New Zealand Book Awards for poetry. He was also named New Zealand's second Te Mata Poet Laureate in 1999.

Isobel Bennett

2008-03-01T13:56:43Z

Isobel Bennett, a pioneering Australian marine scientist, educator and author, died on Jan. 12. Cause of death was not released. She was 98. Bennett worked on the Great Barrier Reef between 1948 and 1970; it served as the focus of several of her books. One genus and five species of marine animals, a fellowship and a coral reef are all named in her honor.

Stig Slas Claesson

2008-02-26T15:53:44Z

Stig Slas Claesson, a prolific Swedish author, died on Jan. 4. Cause of death was not released. He was 79. Claesson produced about 80 books during his career, including "God Natt Froken Ann" (Goodnight, Miss Ann), which was published in 2006. He was also the recipient of the Selma Lagerlof Foundation's literature prize.

George MacDonald Fraser

2008-02-19T21:26:12Z

George MacDonald Fraser, a British author best known for his Flashman novels, died on Jan. 2 of cancer. He was 82. Fraser spent nearly four decades writing adventures featuring Harry Flashman, a handsome rogue who lied, drank, cheated and bedded hundreds of women. His final book, "The Reavers," a non-Flashman novel, is scheduled to be published in April.

Terry Armour

2008-02-15T23:28:04Z

Terrence Elijah Armour, an entertainment and sportswriter for The Chicago Tribune, died on Dec. 28 of an apparent heart attack. He was 46. Armour was the Chicago Bulls beat writer from 1995 to 1999. He then took over the INC. column, which chronicles the city's rich and famous residents. His final story was published on Dec. 28.

Richard A. Nenneman

2008-02-15T23:26:44Z

Richard A. Nenneman, an author and former editor-in-chief of the Christian Science Monitor, died on Dec. 27 in an auto accident. He was 78. Nenneman worked at the newspaper, on and off, from 1965 to 1993. He also wrote the books "How Peace Came to the World," "The New Birth of Christianity: Why Religion Persists in a Scientific Age" and "Persistent Pilgrim: The Life of Mary Baker Eddy." Nenneman was running errands when his car struck a utility pole in Concord, Mass.; he later died at the hospital.

Sylvan Fox

2008-02-05T16:06:44Z

Sylvan Fox, the first "rewrite man" to be singled out for a Pulitzer Prize, died on Dec. 22 of complications from pneumonia. He was 70. Fox was a reporter at The New York World-Telegram & The Sun when he covered the 1962 plane crash on Long Island that killed 95 passengers. He rewrote the article for seven editions and produced a 3,000-word article within 90 minutes of the accident. The follow year, he and two colleagues won the Pulitzer in the now-obsolete category "local story, edition time." Fox later worked as a reporter and editor for The New York Times, as an editorial page editor for Newsday and as the deputy commissioner in charge of press relations for the New York Police Department.

John Griffin

2008-02-05T16:05:03Z

John Griffin, a former editorial page editor for The Honolulu Advertiser in Hawaii, died on Dec. 16 of cancer. He was 80. The veteran journalist was the newspaper's editorial page editor for 28 years before retiring. He also worked for the Peace Corps, evaluating programs in Asia and Africa.

Douglas Kneeland

2008-01-24T23:32:32Z

Douglas E. Kneeland, a former reporter at The New York Times and a former editor at The Chicago Tribune, died on Dec. 15 of lung cancer. He was 78. During the course of his illustrious career, Kneeland saw history unfold. He reported on the trial of Charles Manson and the arrests of the kidnappers of Patricia Hearst. He also covered four presidential campaigns, the student killings at Kent State, the race riots after Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination and the firing of special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox.

Lisa Matsumoto

2008-01-23T03:20:09Z

Lisa Matsumoto, a Hawaiian playwright and actor, died on Dec. 14 in a car accident. She was 43. Matsumoto penned more than 30 plays and educational road shows, and co-wrote the 2004 children's book, "The Christmas Gift of Aloha" with Michael Furuya. She also founded 'Ohi'a Productions, a nonprofit group dedicated to providing creative and educational theatrical opportunities for children.

Allan Berube

2008-01-23T03:18:51Z

Allan Berube, the author of "Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War II," died on Dec. 11 of complications from stomach ulcers. He was 61. The book, which was later adapted into a Peabody Award-winning documentary, won the Lambda Literary Award in 1990. Berube also received a genius grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

Roy Thompson

2008-01-19T10:46:35Z

Roy Thompson, an award-winning columnist for the Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina, died on Dec. 8. Cause of death was not released. He was 84. Thompson became the newspaper's first local columnist in 1950 when he began writing "The Feedbox." He retired in 1985.