RIP, John Mashek, longtime reporter and father of one of our own at SJ.com

[Johnny Dangerously]

Some of you knew him. Many of you know his son, a friend of mine and one of our posters here at SportsJournalists.com. The funeral mass is Monday in Georgetown.

I won't name my buddy, but many of you will make the connection. I'll let him decide if he wants to post on this thread, and if he doesn't, I'll be happy to pass along anything he has to say. Spoke to him on the phone, and he sounded as good as can be expected. His father died two days after the 29th anniversary of my father's death, and I told my amigo to be thankful he had so many years to know his dad man to man.

I'm sure the family would appreciate knowing they are in your thoughts.

John Mashek, a Washington, D.C., fixture who covered every president since John F. Kennedy and enjoyed a front-row seat in the pageant called the American Century, died Tuesday. He was 77.

His son, David P. Mashek, of Mt. Lebanon, said his father was stricken, possibly with a heart attack, while watching his granddaughters at a high school soccer game in suburban Washington.

"He would have been the first to say, 'Hey, I had a great run,' " David Mashek said of his father.

That run stretched from the city halls of Dallas in the 1950s to Washington, where Mr. Mashek was assigned to cover the Texas Congressional delegation for The Dallas Times-Herald.

He was dispatched from Washington to Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, after Kennedy was gunned down by an assassin. He went on to cover the breaking story and the funeral.

In later years, during a 22-year career at U.S. News & World Report, Mr. Mashek would cover the struggles of Lyndon Johnson's Vietnam years, the Watergate scandal that swallowed Richard M. Nixon's legacy, the malaise-ridden administration of Jimmy Carter and the sweeping transformations of the Reagan administration.

"John was a political reporter with a politician's personality. He would charm a source into giving him what he needed, rather than browbeat the poor soul," said Matthew V. Storin, who hired Mr. Mashek for his final job at The Boston Globe.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09309/1011004-122.stm#ixzz0W5ygOaN5


http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09309/1011004-122.stm

 

[sportsguydave]

Condolences to the family, and especially our SportsJournalists.com brother.

 

[Matt1735]

Condolences to his family and friends.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

RIP...

Prayers and condolences to the family.

 

[albert77]

Boy, for a fleeting second when I first saw this I thought it was our mutual friend. And, yes, he is one of the good ones. Sounds like the elder Mash had a hell of a life/career. You know, there are worse ways to go than to have a heart attack while watching those you love doing the things they love. Condolences to the Masheks in their time of loss.

 

[ADodgen]

My best to the Mashek family. You're in my thoughts.

 

[Bob Cook]

So sorry to hear the news.

 

[forever_town]

In a time like this, it doesn't matter which SportsJournalists.com poster it is. My condolences to David and his family in their time of loss.

 

[Steak Snabler]

Boy, for a fleeting second when I first saw this I thought it was our mutual friend. And, yes, he is one of the good ones. Sounds like the elder Mash had a hell of a life/career. You know, there are worse ways to go than to have a heart attack while watching those you love doing the things they love. Condolences to the Masheks in their time of loss.

Yeah, that's the second time I've seen a similar post (the other was by a mutual friend on Facebook) and thought it was Jim who had passed.

I've known Mash the younger for 10 years, and never knew his dad was so accomplished in the biz.

 

[derwood]

RIP.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

Many thanks to all of y'all who have posted.

As you may remember I done outed myself after Katrina, so it's all good.

Dad loved the Phillies and he and Mom went to all three World Series games in Philly. (My brother Tom has worked for the team since he got outta college in the mid-80s.) Dad usually got to bed early because he was always going to awaken early, and that became more of a factor after his stroke in '06.

Anyway I reached Mom on the cell on Tuesday afternoon, as they were crossing the Bay Bridge at Annapolis, back to D.C. On account of that fact, Mom didn't put Dad on the horn. But they had stopped at this little seafood place with a model train that scooted around near the top of the restaurant.

(Dad would avoid I-95 'tween D.C. and Philly like the plague after his retirement. As far as the seafood place, I'm a little partial to Mary Mahoney's in Biloxi or any of a handful of New Orleans places, even if my wallet isn't.)

Dad talked Mom into going to my nieces' soccer game that Tuesday night, on limited rest. Emily and Rebecca play for the Whitman Vikings (their dad, my baby brother, Wid, is a traitor; we all graduated from Churchill ... yes Wid is a nickname.)

Dad collapsed at the game and died at the hospital in Olney, Md. His obit in the Washington Post ran yesterday. My tribute column to him is at www.sunherald.com.

I go home to D.C. tomorrow. Visitation on Sunday night at my parents' place in Georgetown and Funeral Mass at the nearby Church of the Epiphany on Monday morning. Remembrances can be made through the Christ Child Society, with whom my Mom works, or the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

I got to spend a few days with Mom and Dad in mid-October.

Incidentally they suspended the Whitman-Magruder game after my Dad, Mom and Wid left in the ambulance. They completed it the next day. Emily and Rebecca were there.

Johnny Dangerously was there in spirit. I think he filed a 14" gamer and a sidebar. (Don't let Wid stiff you on the check, JD.)

Jesus/Mash

 

[outofplace]

I'm very sorry for your loss, Mash.

 

[StormSurge]

I'm so sorry to hear the news. You have my deepest & sincere condolences.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Double J]

J_M, I'm very sorry for your loss, and I wish all the best to you and your family.

 

[OTD]

He sounds like a hell of a guy. I'd have loved to have shared a few drinks with him.

My condolences to you and your family, J_M.

 

[old_tony]

J_M, my prayers and deepest condolences to you and your family. Sounds like he not only lived a great life but also raised a great family. Cling tightly to them and remember all the good times.

 

[Bamadog]

My condolences to you and your family. Fair winds and following seas.

 

[Blitz]

It's the nature of Jesus Muscatel to NOT go on and on about what a storied career his father had.
Folks at the Sun Herald we're treated, I think, to some time with the man on an occasion or two.
And he was present at an AP summit or two on the Coast.

Jim, my sincere condolences to you and your family.
You've been holding steady and busting your ass with the Sun-Herald as the industry continues its shrinkage.
I most recently enjoyed seeing your football byline with a New Orleans dateline and am relieved to know that your father was taken suddenly, instead of with a period of suffering.
God bless you and the extended Mashek family.

 

[JakeandElwood]

So sorry for your loss.