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Joseph Fumo, who started his career as a Wisconsin newspaper reporter before going on to become an author and technical writer, died Monday, May 24, at his home in Black Mountain, N.C. He was 66.

After earning his journalism degree from UW-Madison, he worked as a reporter for The Mauston Star, the Beloit Daily News and The (Passaic, N.J.) Herald-News. He later became a technical writer, most recently working for Trane Technologies.

Laurie Van Dyke, who worked more than 30 years at the Milwaukee Sentinel and served as Milwaukee Press Club president in the mid-1980s, died Tuesday, May 18, in Denton, Texas. She was 93.

After graduating from Drake University, Van Dyke began her career in Iowa with roles at the Fort Dodge Messenger and Cedar Rapids Gazette. 

In 1960, she joined the women’s news department of The Milwaukee Journal, moving to the Milwaukee Sentinel two years later, after the Journal bought the Sentinel. Starting out as a reporter, she climbed the ranks within the newsroom, eventually becoming the newspaper's first female assistant city editor. She later served as day city editor and assistant managing editor.

Bernice Schnell, who worked many years at the (Manitowoc) Herald Times Reporter, died Friday, May 14, in New Holstein. She was 88.

Schnell worked at the Herald Times Reporter until her retirement. Outside work, she enjoyed baking, camping and fishing, and she served as a 4H leader in Cleveland.

Yvonne (Gulligan) Pedersen, who with her husband was a co-owner of the Juneau County Star-Times in Mauston, died Wednesday, April 28, in Madison. She was 96.

In 1962, Yvonne and her former husband, Kenneth “Kenny” Bogert, moved to Mauston, where the couple, along with Larry Arnold, purchased the Mauston Star and Juneau County Chronicle. The newspapers were later merged with Arnold’s New Lisbon Times-Argus to form the Juneau County Star-Times.

Susan Sorenson, who worked many years for Community Newspapers, Inc., died Monday, May 10, in Waukesha. She was 75.

Sorenson served as a reporter and editor for Community Newspapers, which at one time published nearly two dozen weekly newspapers in the suburban Milwaukee area. The group of papers, many of which have since merged, is currently known as the Now News Group.

Virginia Lane Ryan, who wrote a local history series for the (Grantsburg) Burnett County Sentinel, died Wednesday, May 5, in Grantsburg. She was 89.

Ryan, who enrolled at UW-Superior at age 55 and went on to earn her bachelor's degree in biology, served as a historical speaker at local schools and wrote the “Soderbeck Ferry Tales” local history series, for the Sentinel. In both, Ryan shared her knowledge of family and local history.

Joan Kathleen Hansen, who served as a columnist for The Clintonville Chronicle and Clintonville Tribune-Gazette, died Wednesday, April 28, at her Shawano County home. She was 76.

Tricia Rose, publisher of the Chronicle, shared her memories of Hansen in a column Tuesday. Rose noted that when starting the newspaper in 2009, she was encouraged by several people to hire Hansen, also known as “Red.”

Bernece Ardis Degner Du Charme, who worked nearly 30 years for The Wonewoc Reporter, died Saturday, April 17, at her home in Hillsboro. She was 92 and had been diagnosed last month with cancer.

Bernece worked for the newspaper from 1967 until her retirement in 1994. The Juneau County weekly merged with the Elroy Keystone around 1990, before printing its last issue in 1999.

Jeff Jurena, who in his youth spent time as a community newspaper reporter, died Sunday, March 28, in Gilbert, Ariz. He was 57 and had been diagnosed earlier this year with stage 4 skin cancer.

An Atlanta native, Jurena grew up in Greendale, Wis. A natural athlete, Jurena loved sports, especially bowling and golf. In his younger years, he served as a sports reporter for several community newspapers and also worked for Reiman Publications, a Greendale-based publishing company now affiliated with the Reader’s Digest Corporation.

Patricia “Pat” Simms, who spent her entire reporting career of more than 40 years at the Wisconsin State Journal, died Monday, April 5, in Madison. She was 75.

After earning her master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University in 1969, Simms moved to Madison to join the State Journal reporting staff. When she retired more than 40 years later, Simms stayed active in journalism. She continued to freelance for the State Journal and served as an instructor at Madison College and was the faculty adviser for the Edgewood College student newspaper On the Edge.