Margaret “Meg” Jones, who worked nearly three decades as a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, died Sunday, Dec. 13, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer, the newspaper reported today. She was 58.
Jones was born in Rhinelander and grew up in Whitewater. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and history from UW-Madison, where she also played drums in the marching band.
She spent her entire career working for Wisconsin newspapers, beginning with the Eagle-Star in Marinette. She went on to spend time at the Shawano Evening Leader and Wausau Daily Herald before joining the Journal Sentinel in 1993.
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Jones covered many topics in her years with the Journal Sentinel, from features on snowshoe softball or exploring caves to hard news like floods, tornadoes and blizzards. In 2003, she was part of a team that earned recognition as a Pulitzer Prize finalist for its coverage of chronic wasting disease.
Her work also took her around the world, including eight trips to Iraq and Afghanistan to report on the U.S. military. While embedded on those overseas trips, she was said to have “an uplifting presence” for the troops.
Jones last month was voted into the Milwaukee Media Hall of Fame by the Milwaukee Press Club, which also plans to launch a scholarship in her honor.
A memorial for Jones will be held at a later date.
