Active in the newspaper business until her death, Marie Flynn Berner served as publisher of the Antigo Daily Journal for 48 years.
She died Aug. 17, 2011, in her sleep. She was 98.
Marie was born on Nov. 25, 1912, in Kansas City, Kan., a daughter of William and Elsie (Schultz) Flynn. She moved to Wisconsin as a child, residing in Neopit, where her father worked with the federal government on the Menominee Indian Reservation. She graduated from Antigo High School in 1929, and as the oldest child in a large family, she was unable to attend a university. She settled in Antigo, employed at Woolworth and in the Langlade County Register of Deeds office. It was in the courthouse that she met Artemas Berner, an attorney, and the couple married in 1937.
In the next several years, Artemas became involved with the Antigo Daily Journal as his father, Henry, retired. The Berner family had a number of business enterprises, including WATK radio, where Marie was the bookkeeper. Upon Artemas’ death in 1963, Marie became the owner of Berner Brothers Publishing Co., which ran the Daily Journal, a commercial printing operation, and Office Equipment and Supply, a retail outlet. While the commercial printing and the retail store were sold in 1972, she continued to publish the newspaper for just under 50 years.
Marie was exceptionally active in newspaper organizations and in Antigo and Langlade County groups, serving on the board of directors at the hospital and its Community Health Foundation and the Antigo Public Library.
In 2005 she was selected as the distinguished alumnus at Antigo High School and in 2009, she was named to the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame for her role as a community leader and her role in advancing the successes of the industry across the state.
