Don Brod — the only person to serve International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors as both executive director (previously known as the executive secretary-treasurer) and president — died Oct. 20, 2024 at his home in St. Charles, Ill., at the age of 92.
Don earned a bachelor’s degree at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, and a master’s degree at the University of Missouri. After several years as a reporter/editor for the Montezuma Valley Journal in Cortez, Colo., he moved into higher education in 1960 with a teaching job at the University of Wisconsin at River Falls. He earned a doctorate in journalism at the University of Minnesota in 1968.
In 1969, he accepted a position in the Journalism Department at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, where he specialized in media law and journalism history. He served as department head twice, and he received NIU’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 1987. Don loved to travel and led several journalism programs in Britain, China, and Germany.
The International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors moved its headquarters to NIU in 1976, and Don became the organization’s secretary. He put out ISWNE’s quarterly magazine, Grassroots Editor, which included his column on media law, “Brod’s Law.”
Don retired in 1992 and continued to travel, dine out, and gather with family and friends. He was the first reader and editor of his wife’s mystery novels.
He was an active member of the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva, Illinois, where he found a spiritual home and many friends. He was the editor and publisher of “Lighting the Chalice,” a history of UUSG’s first 175 years.
Don was passionate about freedom of the press, the importance of facts, and the necessity of staying informed. He loved the Cubs, the Bears, dad jokes, and a nice glass of single-malt scotch.
He is survived by his wife, Deborah; two sons, Andrew (Karen) and Stephen (Jan); grandsons James, Meyer, Saul, and Aaron; and his sons’ mother, Nancy Bishop. He was preceded in death by his parents, Theodore and Carrie Brod.
A celebration of Don’s life will be held at 10 a.m. on Nov. 23, 2024 at the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva. Contributions in Don’s memory may be made to UUSG or Americans United for Separation of Church and State.
