LEE CEARNAL, a gifted old-school newspaper reporter and editor, died this week. I met him a few years back, enjoyed his company, admired him immensely, and wish . . .
. . . I had known him better.
NOTE: This post has been bumped forward from January 18 to publish a kind note from Mr. Cernal's daughter, Gretchen Cernal Botha. At the bottom, I reprint the obituary Ms. Botha mentions in her note. I have also deleted some text from the old posting; it no longer seems relevant.
Mike Glenn at the Chronicle wrote a lovely obit in Saturday's paper. The lede:
Lee Cearnal was city editor of The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla., when a job candidate called from the airport asking for directions to the office.
"Lee told him, 'No. Get here on your own. We're not hiring any reporter who can't find his way from the Tampa airport to Lakeland,' " said Charles Overby, Cearnal's former boss at the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
Cearnal, who spent more than a decade at the Houston Chronicle and helped lead a Pulitzer Prize-winning team at the Clarion-Ledger, died Tuesday at his home in Houston. He was 68.
Here's the link, though the story is behind a paywall. http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Cearnal-Pulitzer-winner-and-Chronicle-editor-4206910.php#ixzz2IRr5e9M3
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And, best for last, here is the beautiful obituary by Todd Ackerman.
Lee Cearnal, devoted father and grandfather, Vietnam veteran, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and all-around force of nature, died at his home in Houston Tuesday. He was 68.
Lee, who always seemed younger than his actual years, leaves a rich legacy despite being taken too early: journalists around the country who learned under his tutelage, education reform in Mississippi prompted by hard-hitting stories under his direction; friends kept from getting too comfortable in their opinions thanks to his impassioned, contrarian arguments.
Lee's team of reporters at the Jackson Clarion-Ledger won the Pulitzer, journalism's loftiest achievement, for a series of 30 reports on problems in the state's public education system. The series, which won the 1983 Pulitzer for Public Service, concluded as state legislators convened in a special session that resulted in such reforms as mandatory kindergarten, a stronger attendance law and new taxes.
The Clarion-Ledger was one of a number of newspapers in Lee's journalistic career, which began as a reporter at the Pensacola (Fla.) Journal and ended at the Houston Chronicle, where he was the projects editor. In between he worked at the Lakeland (Fla.) Journal, the Washington headquarters of USA Today and the Monroe (La.) News-Star, where he was executive editor.
Lee, a Marine captain, flew helicopters in Vietnam in the late 1960s, averting death on a couple of occasions. Once, after landing, his crew found a 50-caliber slug embedded in the vehicle's rotor shaft, potentially catastrophic damage. Another time, his last flight, he survived landing on top of a tree after part of his helicopter exploded.
Still, none of Lee's career experiences fully capture his fun and colorful nature. He loved rhythm 'n' blues, Scotch, superhero comic books, the South, any excuse to have a party, history, spirited political debates, blondes, the printed page, going out for drinks, guitar solos, football, Cajun food and the novels of Nabokov. But most of all he loved his daughter Gretchen and granddaughters Ellie and Grace, on whom he could dote with the best of any grandparent.
Lee is remembered for his passion for the truth, his unswerving loyalty to the people and things he loved and the soft heart all too visible beneath his sometimes curmudgeonly exterior.
Lee is survived by Gretchen Botha her husband Mario Botha and their children, Ellie, 4, and Grace, 2, all of Pearland; and sisters Sue and Betty. He was preceded in death by a son, Ben, and former wife, Sidney Ellis Smith.
Lee will be cremated, but celebrations of his life, in the style party in which he specialized, are being planned in Houston and Jackson.
In lieu of flowers, an education savings account has been established at Regions Bank for Lee's grandchildren. Donations can be made to the Lee Cearnal Memorial Education Fund for Ellie and Grace Botha c/o Liz Cleveland, 3965 Council Circle, Jackson, MS, 39206.
It would repay your time to visit this online obituary and read the guest book. And you could do far worse than to honor Lee with a gift to his memorial fund.
Good afternoon, I am Lee Cearnal's daughter, Gretchen, and wanted to say thank you for posting about his gifts. I know he admired you and your blog immensely. There was another obituary written by Todd Ackerman that was very good as well. Todd was one of his best friends, so he could write it from a friend's perspective, but it was in the obituary section of the paper. Thank you again. Respectfully, Gretchen Cearnal Botha . . . Unca D's reply: Your lovely note is more than kind. I admired your father immensely and regret that I did not get to know him better. In addition to all else that was good about him, he was a proud poppa and granddad. Every plate of barbeque we shared at Pizzitola's was spiced by happy and loving stories about you and his grandchildren.
Posted by: Gretchen | March 14, 2013 at 02:30 PM