-- 30 -- for Don Bandy

By Jim Toms

WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE -- Tributes continued during services Saturday for Donald Lee Bandy, 76, retired Beacon Journal reporter and rewrite wizard who died last Sunday in Bradenton, FL. Don was born and grew up in Washington Court House and still has many relatives in the area. Burial was in White Oak Grove Cemetery, outside of town.

In keeping with Don's deep love of The Ohio State University and its athletic teams -- Don received his degree in journalism from OSU and served as editor of the Ohio State Lantern -- he was buried wearing blue jeans, an Ohio State sweatshirt, and a scarlet and gray cap emblazoned with a Block O. His casket was surrounded by Ohio State memorabilia.

Remembrances at the service were given by Jim Palmer, one of Don's nephews; Elaine Palmer Urban, a niece who lives in Hudson; and Bill Hershey, former Beacon Journal Columbus bureau chief who now works for the Dayton Daily News.

Hershey, a close personal friend of Don's, called him "intelligent, quietly sensitive, and intensely loyal." What made him so special, Hershey said, was that he could play any role at the paper. "He was a great reporter and a great listener," he added.

Palmer gave his tribute in the form of a letter written to his Uncle Don. Fighting through tears, he said: "If anyone ever found their calling in life, it was you, Uncle Don, as a news reporter and editor." He recalled a time when Don took him to a Cincinnati Reds game at the old Crosley Field and took him up to the pressbox to meet one of his baseball heroes, Waite Hoyt. He said his Uncle Don "was always doing things like that."

There were approximately 60 people at the service. The Beacon Journal and its alums were represented by Bill and Marcia Hershey, Mike and Suzi Cull, and Jim Toms.

As Elaine Palmer Urban stated in her closing remarks: "We can all rest assured that God has welcomed home a true gentleman" in Donald Lee Bandy.