Former Wisconsin State Journal reporter and editor Cary Segall died on July 3, 2026 at age 76.
Segall was born on Jan. 29, 1950. He learned to love journalism and tell stories while growing up in Green Bay, where he delivered the newspaper of Packers coach Vince Lombardi, worked as sports editor of the Green Bay East High School newspaper and covered high school sports on weekends for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. He also worked as a beer vendor at Lambeau Field so he could attend Packers games — including the Ice Bowl game.
He worked on the sports desk of the Wisconsin State Journal while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a master’s degree in journalism as well as degrees in wildlife ecology and law.
Segall worked as a reporter for 14 years and a copy editor for seven at the Wisconsin State Journal. In 2000, Segall was among a team of reporters who received an honorable mention award from the Milwaukee Press Club Excellence in Journalism awards for “Secret $200,000 campaign for Justice Wilcox” in the category Best Single Story or Series Making a Contribution to the Welfare of the Community or State.
First in his law school class, Segall also worked as an environmental lawyer.
After retiring from the Wisconsin State Journal, he decided to pursue his longtime goal of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail. In 2023, Segall wrote the book, A Talk in the Woods: Voices along the Appalachian Trail,” in which he captured the stories of the hikers, hostel owners, trail angels, volunteers and others along the nearly 2,200 miles of the Appalachian Trail.
He also was a marathon runner, running about 100 miles per week until months before he died. He was a regular runner in the Syttende Mai run in Stoughton for decades. He ran a marathon in most states, including the Madison Marathon when he was age 75 — just weeks before heart surgery.
He is survived by a son, Craig Holt Segall; sisters, Mamie Segall, Barbara Berry and Joan Kernan; as well as one grandson, nieces and nephews.
A link to the obituary can be found here.
