John M. Terrill, longtime editor of the Ladysmith News, died Friday, Aug. 11, at Marshfield Medical Center-Ladysmith, following a six-year battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was 75.
Born on June 10, 1948, in Green Bay, to Carleton and Gladys (Schaefer) Terrill his introduction to journalism came during his senior year at Green Bay West High School as sports editor of the Purple Parrot. Following high school, he wrote for the Bay Badger at UW-Green Bay and was named editor of the newspaper when it became a weekly publication. He spent his final two years of college at UW-Madison, where he wrote for The Daily Cardinal and The Badger Herald. In 1970, he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Terrill spent his entire professional newspaper career working for the Ladysmith News, joining the newspaper on Feb. 8, 1971, and retiring on Aug. 29, 2008. After retiring, he continued as a contributor to the newspaper and occaisionally wrote feature stories.
“Although he covered fatal accidents, tragedies and other calamities as a matter of a record, week by week, he delighted in sharing the lives and good deeds of local citizens through words and pictures,” according to the obituary published by the Ladysmith News.
A memorial service for Terrill will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Sept. 29, at Nash-Jackan Funeral Home in Ladysmith.
