-30-

Paul Adams Rix, a former state government reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal, died Wednesday, Dec. 15, in Mequon. He was 74.

Rix spent his career as a newspaper and magazine reporter. He joined the State Journal in 1978 as a member of the newspaper's Capitol reporting team. Prior to his time with the Madison newspaper, he worked at the Clintonville Tribune and five years at the Kankakee (Ill.) Daily Journal.

Murray Cohen, who owned the Delphos Herald newspaper group that includes three Wisconsin newspapers, died Tuesday, Dec. 7. He was 92.

In 1962, Cohen purchased his first newspaper, The Delphos Herald, a weekly publication in northwestern Ohio. Over time, he went on to buy more than a dozen weekly newspapers in Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. In Wisconsin, Cohen's group owns the Vilas County News-Review in Eagle River, the Waushara Argus in Wautoma and The Three Lakes News.

David M. “Dave” Otto, who spent more than 35 years as a reporter for the Green Bay Press-Gazette, died Friday, Nov. 26, in Green Bay. He was 83.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from Ripon College and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University, Otto embarked on his newspaper career, joining the Press-Gazette in 1962. He was following in the footsteps of his father, Carl, a newspaperman who worked for the (Wisconsin Rapids) Daily Tribune for 46 years.

Dave started as a courthouse reporter at the Press-Gazette, later moving on to become an outdoors and environmental reporter. He received several state and national honors for his work at the newspaper and, after retiring in 1998, he continued to write his popular weekly column, “Plugs & Slugs.”

Bruce David Johnson, a longtime journalism educator from Lake Geneva, died on Nov. 4, at Geneva Lake Manor. He was 94.

After his second tour of duty in the military, Johnson earned a degree — his second — in English and education from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. He went on to teach English and journalism at Badger High School in Lake Geneva, where he served as an adviser to the student newspaper. After 28 years in the position, he retired in 1986. In addition to his teaching role, Johnson was featured as a columnist in newspapers including the Lake Geneva Regional News. He also was an avid reader, photographer and genealogist.

Sandra A. "Sandy" Cota, who spent her career as a newspaper reporter in Iowa and Wisconsin, died Friday, Oct. 8. She was 89.

After graduating from Gillett High School in northeastern Wisconsin, she went on to earn her college degree in journalism. Cota started her career in newspapers with the (Dubuque, Iowa) Telegraph Herald, where she worked as a reporter, before moving on to work in the newsrooms of The (Racine) Journal Times and The Milwaukee Journal.

Alan Goldsmith, who worked in the family newspaper business at The Boscobel Dial, died Sunday, Sept. 12, at his home in Kenosha. He was 76.

While growing up, Goldsmith worked at The Dial, which his parents — both of whom are members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame — owned from 1956 to 1992. He went on to a career in education, teaching graphic design, web design, package design, typography, digital photography and computer illustration at UW-Richland, Mount Senario College and UW-Parkside.

Nancy “Nan” C. Branen, who with her family owned the Burlington Standard Press and Southern Lakes Media for many years, died Friday, Sept. 10, at her home in Burlington. She was 91.

A Milwaukee native, she married William E. “Bill” Branen on June 18, 1949, and five years later Bill bought the Standard Democrat, starting the family's 50-year run of newspaper ownership. Following her husband's death, Nan served as board chair for Southern Lakes Media, the parent company of the Standard Press and the family’s other weekly newspapers. She also handled accounting, ad layout and proofreading for the newsgroup and served as publisher of the Poynette Press and Evansville Leader.

Barbara Hipp Fiore, who worked many years in newspaper production for The Edgerton Reporter, died Monday, Aug. 30. She was 81.

After marrying her ex-husband, James, Fiore moved to Madison — where she started her newspaper career with The Edgerton Reporter. She worked in pre-press for the newspaper and held a strong belief in the role local newspapers held in their communities. Her work at The Reporter led her to purchase a screenprinting business, Silk Screen Creations. She continued in both roles until retiring in 2011.