Paul Salsini, a longtime Milwaukee journalist and educator, died on June 5 in Milwaukee, after a long illness. He was 88.
Raised in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Salsini knew by the eighth grade that he wanted to be a journalist, writes Rick Barrett of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He earned his journalism degree from Marquette University before joining the Milwaukee Journal in 1959 as a suburban reporter. He went on to serve as state editor and staff development director for 11 years.
In 1970, he was hired as an adjunct professor at Marquette, where he taught for more than 53 years.
While he was at the Milwaukee Journal, Salsini launched The Sondheim Review, a quarterly magazine about legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim. In 2022, he wrote a book, “Sondheim and Me: Revealing a Musical Genius.” In retirement, he became an award-winning author of a series of novels set in Tuscany and a non-fiction book about Sondheim.
A memorial mass will be held at the Milwaukee Catholic Home at a later date.
