Craig_Lancaster
New Member
Just wanted to let folks know that Chris Reidy, a longtime sports copy editor at the Hartford Courant, died yesterday. He was 43 or 44 (God, how embarrassing to not know his birthday). Whatever his age, he was too damned young.
For those who know and love him, it's a true punch to the gut. Chris didn't even know how sick he was until the end of November. He'd felt poorly for a few weeks, saw a doctor and found out he had colon cancer. (You'll note that he was younger than the recommended age for a colonoscopy; don't let your doctor put you off.)
Long before I was privileged to call Chris a friend, he was my professional nemesis. In 1992, we were both up for the same job at the Anchorage Daily News. He was in the mix on merit; I was there because of a fluke. I’d been permitted to take the editing test, mostly as a courtesy because the hiring editor liked my moxie. I did well enough to make him consider me a candidate.
A week or so later, Chris came in, took the same test and aced it. It was awfully tough to compete with that.
Beyond his excellence as a journalist, he was as good a friend as you could ever hope to have. He had these big, booming laughs with the patented "Reidy snort." He had a way of making you feel like you were the center of the universe when he was with you. He'll be deeply missed.
A lot of people are hurting today -- his friends at the Courant, the folks he worked with in Alaska and Florida, his fantasy-football buddies, old friends from school and, most of all, his wife, Mary, and his daughter, Carolyn.
Please keep them in your prayers.
For those who know and love him, it's a true punch to the gut. Chris didn't even know how sick he was until the end of November. He'd felt poorly for a few weeks, saw a doctor and found out he had colon cancer. (You'll note that he was younger than the recommended age for a colonoscopy; don't let your doctor put you off.)
Long before I was privileged to call Chris a friend, he was my professional nemesis. In 1992, we were both up for the same job at the Anchorage Daily News. He was in the mix on merit; I was there because of a fluke. I’d been permitted to take the editing test, mostly as a courtesy because the hiring editor liked my moxie. I did well enough to make him consider me a candidate.
A week or so later, Chris came in, took the same test and aced it. It was awfully tough to compete with that.
Beyond his excellence as a journalist, he was as good a friend as you could ever hope to have. He had these big, booming laughs with the patented "Reidy snort." He had a way of making you feel like you were the center of the universe when he was with you. He'll be deeply missed.
A lot of people are hurting today -- his friends at the Courant, the folks he worked with in Alaska and Florida, his fantasy-football buddies, old friends from school and, most of all, his wife, Mary, and his daughter, Carolyn.
Please keep them in your prayers.
