Marv & Joyce Katz, Lisa & Tom Pagel, Susie & Ralph Bobenreith at Lisa’s wedding to Tom

Marv Katz, wife Joyce move again

Marv Katz, who spent time at the Beacon Journal during his 40-year career, and his wife, Joyce Moseley Katz, have moved into a senior living facility in Portland, Oregon.

“John,

“I've been spending too much time today on the BJ Alums blog, mostly reading the materials Peggy Rader posted, and reminiscing. Thanks to you both for the memories.

“That said, I discovered that the contact information you have on me is woefully outdated.

 

"Here's the current info: Email--marvkatz@frontier.com ; Snailmail--20 SE 103rd Ave., Apt. 301, Portland, OR 97216.

“The address is a senior living facility where Joyce and I moved almost two months ago, when I decided homeownership had become too much and Joyce finally more-or-less agreed.

 

"The food is good, the other residents are mostly friendly, and daughter Susie, her husband Ralph and our two grandkids live about 20 minutes away. We hope to put our house in Troutdale on the market after the first of the year.

“Thanks for reading and for updating my info. And for keeping up the blog. 

“Best regards, 

“Marv Katz”

Marv and Joyce had two daughters, Dr. Susie Katz Bobenrieth, who lives in Portland, Oregon, with husband Bob Bobenrieth, and Lisa Katz Pagel, who passed away in 2011 in Fort Lewis, Washington.

 

Lisa left her job at North Carolina-Chapel Hill to join her husband, Major Thomas Pagel, who at that time was stationed in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, then followed him to Fort Lewis. Lisa was a Kent State graduate and 1987 Beacon Journal intern.

BJ veteran reporter Katie Byard had some interesting observations about Lisa:

“This brought back many fond memories of Lisa. She interned -- superbly -- at the Beacon Journal in 1987. Jim and I were dating -- and then married that year -- and counted Lisa among our dearest pals.

“She left the area after graduating from Kent State and worked at the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia. She then worked for then-Virginia Governor Doug Wilder as a press secretary.

“She did other stuff before meeting the love of her life, Major Thomas Pagel. They married in 2008 and Lisa delved enthusiastically into being a military spouse. I always admired her enthusiasm, flexibility and amazingly positive attitude, which served her well as she battled cancer. I miss her much.”

Marv and Joyce moved from Hendersonville, North Carolina to Troutdale, Oregon in 2013 to be near Susie. Before that, they lived in Rockville, Maryland.

Marv retired in 1998 after a career that included journalism, public relations, freelance writing and PR consulting.

Snell shares Arcanum author spotlight

 

There are only 2,062 people in Arcanum, which is in Darke County, on the border of Ohio and Indiana.

And yet there are two “famous” authors who were born in and grew up in Arcanum – Linda Coble Castillo and BJ alum Roger Snell.

Roger Snell

Neither is the most famous native of Darke County. That would be Phoebe Ann Mosey, better known as sharpshooter Annie Oakley, who was born in a cabin within two miles of Woodland, now Willowdell, which is 30 miles from Arcanum.

Roger wrote “Root for the Cubs,” which disputes that Babe Ruth actually called the home run against Cubs pitcher Charlie Root, despite the legend.

Linda went from cranking out three or four Harlequin books a year to writing a Kate Burkholder crime thriller series set in Amish country for Berkeley Publishing. One became a movie, “An Amish Murder.”

Arcanum began in 1849. The railroad arrived three years later.

Roger and wife Linda live in Frankfort, Kentucky with daughters Rachel and Hannah.

Roger, who survived immune system attacks on his cerebellum and brain that stopped his breathing when he felt asleep by turning to vitamins, minerals, nutriets and diet, administers a marketing program called Kentucky Proud that helps farmers transition from tobacco to alternative crops such as fruits and vegetables.

The article on Roger published in the Daily Advocate of Greenville, which is 10 miles from Arcanum and also in Darke County:

Arcanum produces another author

By Linda Moody, Greenville Daily Advocate

 

ARCANUM – Roger Snell, a 1977 Arcanum High School graduate, said he ironically released his second book the same day Linda (Coble) Castillo (a 1978 Arcanum graduate) recently appeared at the Arcanum Public Library, where he worked while going to high school.

“Both of us had Ms. Pallant as our creative writing teacher,” Snell said. “She is mentioned in my book and so is Linda.”

Snell said his memoir book, titled “Love Grandpa,” features Arcanum and Darke and Preble counties.

“Growing up in Arcanum, it mentions a few highlights….dozens of local names and a funny story in the midst of the rubble of his childhood home after the tornado,” Snell said. “As Mike Bevins toured my old bedroom, with no ceiling, insulation hanging everywhere, furniture tossed haphazardly, he said, ‘Looks the same as when you lived here.’ Dad, a long-time Arcanum letter carrier and then well-known at Arcanum Hardware, made national news with his description of the tornado as he stood in the rubble of the only home he ever owned.”

The key point of the book, however, is about his near-death experience in April.

“The book is inspiring, faithful, and covers a career as a reporter who won the Pulitzer while looking for the worst in people,” he said. “But I found the best in people when I became bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was surrounded by people who turned life’s tests into testimony. I devoted my life to changing the world. Instead, this wonderful world changed me.”

“Love, Grandpa,” his latest book, is on sale now.

“It is a memoir and a Christian non-fiction account of what happened when I reached death’s door in April 2017,” he said. “I spent 19 years digging for dirt and finding the worst in people, I learned to see the world differently when I became a bishop for the church. Soon, I was surrounded by faithful and extraordinary members who turned life’s tests into testimony, including my own daughter who lost her son 40 days after birth. I sought to change the world. Instead, this wonderful world changed me. My life transformed from demolition to construction.”

Snell has been writing as early as he can remember.

“I even typed up my own daily newsletter – back when we had typewriters – when I was going to Butler Junior High outside of Arcanum,” he said. “I wrote more than 3,000 stories, mostly investigative, and won the Pulitzer Prize while with the Akron Beacon Journal.”

Snell said his journalism career was inspired by Watergate.

“But my start was because of exceptional teachers at Arcanum High School and Butler Junior High,” he said.

Snell moved to Kentucky in 1998 and runs the ‘dating service’ for Kentucky Proud.

“That’s how one of my bosses described my job as one of the pioneers of the state marketing program helping Kentucky farm families find buyers and markets for their products at Kroger, Walmart, independent grocers, restaurants, and more,” he said. “I wrote both books between 5-6 a.m. each day and full-time on weekends.”

He continued, “I am a lousy missionary and very shy about talking about religion. But after what happened to me at death’s door, I am obligated to get a lot bolder about offering hope, love, and comfort to a troubled and contentious world. My wife grabbed both my hands when I was on my death bed, fell backwards with all of her strength, just to pull me up out of bed and into a wheelchair so I could write 800 to 1,000 words per hour per day. I did 100,000 words in 100 days. This book is the result.”

The 58-year-old author graduated from Ohio State University in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

 

Bob Dyer with father, Big Al Dyer, in Norfolk; Bob's mother, Jane, a figure skating legend

Bob Dyer’s father passes away

Bob Dyer’s father, Big Al – Alvin C. Dyer, Jr. – passed away Tuesday, November 21.

It was the final journey for a guy who saw the world on Navy ships in the Atlantic and Pacific while warding off submarines and then married a national-class figure skater, Jane Schellentrager.

Which, of course, led to their greatest achievement, conceiving the Akron Beacon Journal’s greatest columnist, Bob Dyer, who came from the Wooster Daily Record to brighten Ol’ Blue Walls.

Bob and Brookdale aide Brandy Pryor accompanied his father, Big Al, to the Norfolk, Virginia naval base as part of Brookdale nursing homes’ Wishes of a Lifetime free granting of, well, a wish. For Big Al, who spent World War II in the Navy in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, it was a slam-dunk: He wanted to be on a ship again.

So Big Al and Bob took their Victory Rover boat ride – Big Al’s first in a quarter-century -- while President Trump was dedicating the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, and, as Bob wrote, “Dad would be close enough to watch Donald Trump’s Marine One helicopter take off from the flight deck.”

To read Bob’s column about his journey with Big Al to the Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, click on

https://www.ohio.com/akron/writers/bob-dyer/bob-dyer-big-al-merges-his-navy-past-with-present

Bob’s mother was no slouch either. Jane Schellentrager was a figure skater who competed at the national level. She was still dazzling on the ice in the Mid-Western senior pairs with Riki Bliss on a day when Hayes Alan Jenkins was winning the 1947 junior men’s title. Jane and Riki won a silver medal in 1947.

Big Al and Jane were married 36 year when she passed away.

Big Al’s obituary:

Alvin C. Dyer Jr.

Alvin C. Dyer Jr. finished the job on Nov. 21, 2017.

He was 93, an age he never dreamed he would reach.

A retired electrical engineer, Al was a perfectionist who reveled in repairing anything and everything and customizing all sorts of things around the house.

Born in Pittsburgh, he moved to Northeast Ohio during high school when his father, also an electrical engineer, was promoted and transferred to Cleveland.

After graduating from Shaker Heights High School, Al enrolled at Purdue University, but his education was interrupted by World War II. He joined the Navy and served in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters before returning to Purdue to finish up.

In 1949, he married fellow Shaker Heights resident Jane Schellentrager, a figure skater who competed at the national level. They were together for 36 years before her passing.

They had two sons, Bob, of Copley, and Bill, of North Royalton, who survive; as do grandchildren, Carrie and Kimmie Dyer and Ryan and Kimberly Steigmeier. His sister, Jane McVay of Twinsburg, preceded him in death.

His sons married Becky Norman of Millersburg and Jeannine Steigmeier of Brooklyn, Ohio.

In later years, Al spent countless hours with a special friend, the late Betty Luthanen, who lost her husband a few years before he lost his wife.

'Big Al,' as his kids called him, spent his entire career with Atlas Car & Manufacturing Co. in Cleveland, where he specialized in designing scale cars for steel mills. He received multiple patents.

During the early years of his career, he would moonlight repairing TV sets.

In his 70s he began to collect and build clocks, everything from enormous grandfather clocks to small wall and desk models.

Until his early 80s, he was still crawling onto the second-story roof to mess with antennas, weather stations and satellite dishes.

His mind remained sharp well into his 90s. Until his last few years, he would watch the TV quiz show 'Jeopardy' almost every night and identify many answers before the contestants did.

Growing up during the Depression had a big impact. He would go to great lengths to avoid overpaying for even small items, sometimes driving several miles out of his way to save a few cents per gallon of gasoline.

He watched Lawrence Welk reruns every week on PBS. He enjoyed music, especially big bands, and had a wonderful singing voice. Although he had no formal training as a musician, he taught himself the harmonica while onboard ship in the Navy, and later enjoyed banging on bongos and noodling around on an electronic organ he built from a kit.

He was a tough guy, fighting until his final breath. But, like so many others in the Greatest Generation, he never boasted about his toughness - or anything else, for that matter.

The family would like to offer special thanks to the beautiful, selfless, loving people at Brookdale Bath. They greatly enriched the last two years of his life.

Donations may be made in Al’s name to Wish of a Lifetime, 110 16th St., Suite 406, Denver, CO. 80202, a charity affiliated with Brookdale that sent him on a wonderful trip to the Norfolk Naval Base in July.

Big Al will be buried next to his wife, and near his parents, during a small private ceremony at Acacia Memorial Park in Mayfield Heights.

He was a good man. He will be missed. He will not be forgotten.

Writing tips by Thrity

Former BJ reporter turned best-selling author Thrity Umrigar will be on WCPN 90.3 from 9:40-10 a.m. Wednesday, November 8 to discuss writing tips for National Novel Writing Month. The host will be Mike McIntyre.

Also on the program will be writers Claire McMillan and
Lance Parkin.

Thrity’s latest novel is “Everybody’s Son.”

Thrity has been teaching creative writing at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland since 2002. Her other works include:

“The Story Hour,” “Bombay Time,” “The Space Between Us,” “If Today be Sweet,” “The Weight of Heaven,” “The World We Found” and “First Darling of the Morning.”

Thrity left India at the age of 21 to attend Ohio State University.

Thrity began her reporting career with the Lorain Journal. Two years later, in 1987, she came to the BJ.

Martha Kolton Lipford was one smart Cookie.

Cookie, who passed away Thursday, November 2, retired as Accounting Supervisor for the BJ. She was at Ol’ Blue Walls for more than 25 years.

 

The lifelong Akron resident was the widow of North Carolina native Charles “Chick” Lipford, who worked at Firestone for 37 years.

 

Cookie knew how to enjoy life. Accounting and Circulation department retirees from the BJ have reunions at the drop of a glitzy bonnet.

 

For example, the surprise November 20 birthday party that her BJ friends threw in 2013 for Cookie.

 

Beacon Journal alumni gathered at the Arlington Street Golden Corral. Carol Eubank, who never misses a party or running a charity fundraiser, was there. So was Cheryl Scott Sheinen, wife of former BJ staffer Neil Sheinin and a retiree from the BJ Finance Department, where she spent 45 years.

 

Cookie was at the same Arlington Street Golden Corral a year earlier when the gang had a get-together with BJ Accounting Department retiree Linda McElroy. Linda's husband, Business Department retiree Harold McElroy, passed away in 2011. The McElroys and retired printer Dick Latshaw were neighbors on Pauleys Island, South Carolina.

Bob Craiglow and his wife, Pat, Mike Jewell and Janet Hall, Cheryl Sheinin, Noreen Dimmerling, Mick Dimeff and Carol Eubank were there. Of course. 

Cookie’s obituary nailed it with “she leaves many life-long friends she worked with at the newspaper.” Indeed.

See what I mean about any excuse for a party will do when it comes to BJ retirees?

 

Newsroom retirees are the same way. It’s in the (Ol’) Blue (Walls) blood. It must be the John S. Knight influence.

 

Cookie’s obituary:

 

Martha “Cookie” Louise Lipford (Kolton)

TOGETHER AGAIN Martha “Cookie” Lipford (nee Kolton), born November 20, 1934, a lifelong resident of Akron, passed away peacefully on November 2, 2017.

She was married to Charles “Chick” Lipford for 54 years, before his passing in 2010. She leaves behind her son, Mark (Pat) Lipford; a sister, Barbara Jean Easterling; brother, Jim (Rosemary) Kolton; sister-in-law, Wanda Smith; grandchildren, Matthew Lipford and Christopher (Rachel) Lipford; great-grandchildren, James, Winston and Michael Lipford; as well as many nieces and nephews.

Cookie worked at the Akron Beacon Journal for more than 25 years and leaves many life-long friends she worked with at the newspaper. She was an extraordinary woman, exceptional mother, and a kind, compassionate and loving person who will be very much missed. For those fortunate enough to have known her, we were truly blessed.

Special thanks and gratitude to Sunrise Senior Living who took such good care of her for the last few years and Harbor Light Hospice who saw her through her final days.

Calling hours will be on Tuesday, November 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Dunn-Quigley Akron Chapel, (811 Grant St.). Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, November 8 at 10 a.m. at the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Catholic Church, 2425 Myersville Road, Akron, Ohio, 44312.

 

Chick’s 2010 obituary:

Charles "Chick" G. Lipford passed away on March 26, 2010.

Charles was born in Gastonia, North Carolina to the late Mack and Mary Lipford, and soon moved to Akron, Ohio. A graduate of South High, he proudly served in the U.S. Army in Korea. He spent the next 37 years working at Firestone Tire and Rubber Co. In 1955 he married Martha "Cookie" Kolton who was his life partner and best friend.

Preceded in death by his brother, Tom, and his sister, Alice Kark; he is survived by his wife, Martha; son, Mark (Pat); two grandchildren, Matthew and Christopher (Rachel); two great-grandchildren, Winston and James Lipford; sister, Wanda Smith; and many nieces, nephews, and good friends.

If the true measure of a man is the impact and positive change he leaves on those whose lives he touched, then Charles' life was and incredible success. He was a terrific husband, outstanding father, loving grandfather and great-grandfather. His family was his priority.

Calling hours will be on Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Dunn-Quigley Funeral Home (811 Grant St.). Mass of Christian Burial will be on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Nativity of the Lord Jesus Catholic Church, (2425 Myersville Rd.), entombment, Holy Cross Cemetery.

Pyle award for Connie Schultz

Syndicated and former PD Pulitzer-winning columnist Connie Schultz will receive the 2018 Ernie Pyle Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists.

Connie won her Pulitzer in 2005 while at the PD.

Connie Schultz

The Pyle award, named for the famous World War II war correspondent who brought America stories of G.I. Joes, will be handed to Connie during the society’s June 7-10 conference in Cincinnati.

For 10 years Creators Syndicate has been distributing Connie’s columns.

Connie responded:

“Many years ago, a reader familiar with my work sent me a first-edition copy of Ernie Pyle’s book ‘Brave Men’ and Lee G. Miller’s biography ‘The Story of Ernie Pyle.’ The reader, who identified himself as an elderly man, asked that I never stop writing about the ‘regular men and women who make up this great country.’

Ernie Pyle

“Both books continue to hold a place of honor in my personal library, but since learning of this award, they feel like whispers from the grave of a great journalist who died before I was born.

"Ernie Pyle knew there is no such thing as an ordinary person, and it has been my privilege to illustrate that singular truth for nearly 40 years, one story at a time. I hope to do so as long as I draw a breath.”

Sherrod Brown, a U.S. Senator from Ohio, is married to Connie, who also is a Professional in Residence at Kent State’s Journalism and Mass Media School. They have four children and five grandchildren and live in Cleveland.

Since 1993 Pyle winners have included Dave Barry, Art Buchwald, Roger Ebert, Judith “Miss Manners” Martin and Andy Rooney.

Dana, Indiana native Ernest Taylor Pyle was killed in 1945 on Okinawa in the last pitched battle of World War II. Infantry soldiers buried him with his helmet still on. He was 44.

He won a Pulitzer in 1944 for his interviews of “dogface” soldiers for the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain.

His early reporting as America’s first aviation columnist created a friendship with legendary pilot Amelia Earhart.