Saturday, August 18, 2012

Copy Desk chief Kathy Fraze retiring

Kathy Fraze, Beacon Journal copy desk chief who has been at the BJ for almost four decades, is retiring.  She has no immediate plans.

Kathy was born with printer’s ink in her blood.  Her
grandmother, Ruth Kane, was a long-timeMassillon Independent City Hall and police reporter. Grandma got Kathy her first job, at 16, as an Indy reporter.

Kathy is the daughter of a steelworker and a maternity ward nurse who was born and grew up in Massillon, known more for its Washington High Tigers football teams than anything else.

Kathy’s BJ career began on July 23, 1973 which means she has been at the newspaper for 39 years–and she is still only 61.The Bowling Green journalism graduate was on the State Desk run by the late, Pat Englehart and is in the famous
  photo of the State Desk wake with Cathy Strong, who has a reputation for journalism excellence in Asia and the Arab world; Kathy Goforth, who left for New York City with Charles Buffum decades ago; Pam McCarthy, a 33-year North Canton Hoover High journalism teacher legend; the late Jan Clark; and John Olesky, then assistant State Desk editor.
 

Kathy Fraze once was married to fellow Bowling Green graduate and Canton native Bruce Larrick, a BJ reporter who died in 2007 after 20 years on the Philadelphia Inquirer national desk. They have a son, Bryan, who lives in New York City and illustrated Kathy’s books about police detective Jo Ferris which have “Final” in all their titles.

Kathy’s other books are based on “letters” from her dog to “Pops” -- Mike Needs, a former BJ assistant managing editor Mike Needs. Needs is out West with the U.S. Forestry Service.




 

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