Longtime journalist, columnist and commentator Dave Begel died on March 3, 2026 at age 82.
A March 9 piece about Begel’s life appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. According to the story:
Dave Begel was known to be tender warm, colorful, brash and opinionated, according to his brother, Dan.
Dan Begel recalled a time when his brother worked as a sports reporter from the Milwaukee Journal and couldn’t get a quote from Milwaukee Bucks coach Don Nelson. He said Dave went to the airport, lay down in front of Nelson, saying, “Nellie, you’re going to have to walk over me or give me the story.”
Another time, according to a 2008 story by sportswriter Jason Wilde, Dave Begel was banned from Green Bay Packers football practice by none other than Bart Starr. The coach accused Dave Begel of tipping off opponents, but the sportswriter refused to stop showing up. He parked close to the practice field, stood on the roof of his car and use binoculars to watch practice.
Mike Juley, who worked as Begel’s editor from 1984-86 at the Journal, remembered the time Starr had Begel marched out of a news conference.
“Starr announced to all the sportswriters who ere there that he was not going to have a press conference unless [Begel] left,” Juley recalled.
Dan Begel recalled his brother as compassionate with a good heart who was always sticking up for underdogs.
In 2017, while Begel worked as an Uber driver, he gave a ride to a single mom without a car. Struck by her story, Begel helped raise thousands of dollars so she could buy one.
A Whitefish Bay High School graduate, Dave Begel attended UW-Oshkosh before leaving to join the Navy. He was stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam War. Upon returning to the U.S., he attended UW-MIlwaukee and obtained the sportswriting job out of college.
Begel and his wife, Susan Goodnow, were married more than 55 years. She died in 2023.
In the band Granite, Begel played guitar and sang, and had a great memory for song lyrics.
“He liked to entertain, he liked to inform,” said Dan Begel. “He liked to plumb the world for information.”
A memorial service for Bagel featuring members of Granite will be held beginning at 2 p.m. on March 15 at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn, which is located at 1001 Locust St.
Begel is survived by his daughters, Emily (Brian Bodendein) and Alli (Bret Seymour) as well as his sister, Amy; his brother, Dan; and four grandchildren, as well as friends and neighbors.
