Obit

Kerr, 52

AMERICAN JOURNALIST Gail Kerr died last March 25. She was 52.

Kerr worked as a copy girl for The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville in 1978 while in high school. She later worked as a reporter for the paper. She went on to become its city editor and columnist. (Popular Tennessean columnist Gail Kerr dies at 52, Houston Chronicle)

Kerr wrote about Tennessee’s school systems, state and local politics, and domestic violence. (Tennessean Announces Death of Columnist Gail Kerr, NewsChannel5.com)

In a statement on Kerr’s death, Tennessean news director Maria De Varenne said: “Gail was a consummate journalist. She gave voice to those in the community who didn’t have one. She stood up for people and causes she believed in, and she wasn’t afraid to spar with politicians and civic leaders when she disagreed with them.” (Tennessean Columnist Gail Kerr Has Died, Nashville Public Radio)

Longtime Tennessean editor John Seigenthaler said: “I think she was an exceptional journalist. Beyond that, I think she succeeded as a columnist because she knew the community and really identified with all segments of the community. She would write with authority because she knew the subject so well, whether it was a feature about someone who was down on their luck or politics or religion.” (Tennessean columnist Gail Kerr dies at 52, Nashville Post)

She is survived by her husband, mother, sister, two nephews, and a niece.

Schell, 70

AMERICAN JOURNALIST Jonathan Edward Schell died of cancer last March 25. He was 70.

Schell was a reporter and columnist for The New Yorker and Newsday. He was also a correspondent for the Nation magazine. (Jonathan Schell, author ‘The Fate of the Earth,’ dies at 70, The Washington Post)

He covered war and politics for more than 40 years. His writings were published in newspapers and later in books.

His books include “The Village of Ben Suc” (1967), “The Time of Illusion” (1976) and “The Fate of the Earth” (1982), “The Gift of Time: The Case for Abolishing Nuclear Weapons Now” (1998), “The Unfinished Twentieth Century” (2001), “The Unconquerable World” (2003), and “The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger” (2007). (Jonathan Schell, Author Who Explored War, Dies at 70, The New York Times)

In a tribute to Schell’s death, New Yorker editor David Remnick said of his book “Village of Ben Suc”: It was a remarkable piece of reporting and writing, particularly for one so young and so modestly experienced.” (Jonathan Schell dies at 70; author and anti-nuclear activist, Los Angeles Times)