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R.I.P. Jeff Fries

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by hondo, May 29, 2014.

  1. hondo

    hondo Well-Known Member

    I'm taking a chance that some on the board might remember this guy. It's been a long time since he was working full-time (November of 1990) but former Florida Times-Union and Denver Post writer died last week at the age of 53. He was the national college writer at the Times-Union when he had a stroke on Thanksgiving weekend 24 years ago, at the age of 29. He was hired by Craig Stanke at the same time as Pete Prisco. Jeff and Pete both went to Arizona State and it would up being a package deal of sorts. Jeff had the Florida beat for a few years and if memory serves, broke the Spurrier-to-Florida story.

    The guy was very talented and probably wouldn't have been in Jacksonville very long before striking out to a bigger paper or SI. He rehabilitated himself so that he could walk with a cane and wrote some web columns. Jeff had a halfway decent quality of life, all things considered, but had two more strokes in the past two years and was pretty much bed-ridden and uncommunicative when he passed from pneumonia.

    It was just a horrible thing to happen and he was a world-class good guy.
     
  2. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    Wow, that sucks...

    RIP...
     
  3. Matt1735

    Matt1735 Well-Known Member

    Damn. Damn. Damn.

    I worked with Jeff. You couldn't find a nicer guy to have as a friend. He was a good writer and was a jack of all trades in my time with him in Jacksonville.

    RIP Jeff.
     
  4. steveu

    steveu Well-Known Member

    Ugh.

    I never knew Jeff, but this is a sad story nevertheless. Looking forward to hearing more stuff about him.

    RIP.
     
  5. WriteThinking

    WriteThinking Well-Known Member

    I never knew Jeff but his name rings a bell, and this is just awful.

    It's really true. You never know when, or how, your life will end. It's disconcerting and a little scary.

    Rest in peace, Jeff.
     
  6. reformedhack

    reformedhack Well-Known Member

    Covered Florida during Jeff's era and, indeed, he was a good guy and a diligent reporter. I heard he had some health issues after I left the UF scene, but I didn't realize they were so severe ... wow.

    Life is so fleeting. News like this makes you pause for a minute and wonder if you're making the most of your relatively short time on the planet.

    Safe home, Jeff.
     
  7. Drip

    Drip Active Member

    RIP.
     
  8. OTD

    OTD Well-Known Member

    Echoing Hondo's post--I worked with Jeff and he was an excellent writer and easy to deal with. I think he actually was at the T-U a little before Prisco, but I might be wrong.

    And in a world of Craig Stanke imitations, Jeff's was world-class. He was a funny guy anyway, but the Stanke impression never failed to get everyone laughing their asses off.

    R.I.P., Jeff.
     
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