Bill Livick, a former Unified Newspaper Group reporter and editor who also served as a freelance restaurant reviewer for The (Janesville) Gazette, died Friday, June 18, in Ashland after suffering a heart attack. He was 65.
Born Nov. 14, 1955, in Janesville, Livick was the son of Daniel and Violet (Olson) Livick. After graduating from Janesville High School in 1974, Livick spent many years traveling the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
Livick earned his journalism degree from UW-Madison in 1990 and went on to teach high school journalism and English on a Navajo reservation in Gallup, N.M. He returned to Wisconsin in 2000, joining UNG as a reporter and starting his freelance restaurant reviewer role with his hometown paper, The Gazette.
After several years covering the education beat in Oregon and Verona, Livick was named Oregon Observer editor in 2006, succeeding Jim Winter. He held the role until 2011, when he returned to reporting. Livick covered local government and politics until retiring in November 2018, earning several WNA Foundation Better Newspaper Contest awards for his work.
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In his retirement, Livick moved to Ashland, where he served as a kayak guide for tours of the Apostle Islands.
A memorial service has been planned for July 10 in the Janesville area. Further details will be announced.
