The kid from Dennison and the kid from Dover are together again in the Newsroom in the Sky.

The Dover guy, Larry Froelich, who was battling leukemia, fell during an Ohio visit and struck his head Sunday, June 4. Former wife Janis Froelich, a former BJ reporter, relayed the news to BJ folks.

The Dennison guy was Harry Liggett, the late founder of the BJ Alums blog.

As Larry recalled on the blog when Harry passed away:

“I'll miss you, old friend. We shared common ground during our youth, you in Dennison and me in Dover. We'd reminisce about the old Dover Reporter and the Dennison paper where we lost our journalistic baby teeth. I'm just so sorry I never got up your way during these last couple months to see you. Rest in peace, Harry.”

You rest in peace, too, Larry.

Larry’s widow is Suzanne Dolezal Froelich. They lived in Lexington, Kentucky, Larry’s final newspaper and Knight-Ridder career stop.

1964 Ohio University graduate Larry began with Knight in 1967 at the BJ as a police reporter, followed managing editor Scott Bosley to the Detroit Free Press in 1981 where he became assistant news editor before going to the Lexington News-Leader in 1989 and retiring in 2005.

Larry’s Dover Reporter editor was Harry Yockey, father of Nancy Yockey Bonar. While visiting Harry Yockey in his Dover office, Harry told Larry that the Dover job was his old job was his for the taking since Larry was ending his military career.

Larry told Harry that he wanted to work for the BJ. So Yockey called BJ publisher Ben Maidenberg while Larry sat in Harry’s office and Ben hired Larry sight unseen.

Maidenberg was like that. I owe the revival of my newpaper career to Ben’s willingness to hire a guy fired at the Dayton Daily News because of his union activities.

Larry Froelich has a son, Mark, who graduated from Kent State and is married to Bowling Green grad Christa. Their children are Jack and Lindsay.

Larry has a daughter, Britta, married to Michigan State grad Marc Spanke. Their children are Halle and Clare.

Janis is Mark and Britta’s mother.

Larry and Suzanne, a feature writer at the Free Press, have a son, Eric.

Larry’s brother, Steve Froelich, passed away in Findlay, Ohio in 2012. Steve taught high school English and journalism for 35 years in Findlay and performed in the local theatre.

 

Janis Froelich, who is married to St. Petersburg photographer Ray Bassett, grew up in an 1853 farmhouse right off Hudson's downtown Main Street and was a close friend of the late Features editor/columnist Joan Rice, "my how-to-be cool role model."