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Former Milwaukee journalist Mary Joanne Scheffel, 89, of Cedarburg, died on Sunday, April 28.

She graduated as valedictorian in 1953 from Oconto Falls High School, where she served as editor of the school newspaper. After earning her journalism degree in 1958 from Carroll College in Waukesha, she went on to join the Milwaukee Journal as a receptionist and editorial assistant, eventually becoming an editor of the Neighbors/Lifestyle section until her retirement in 1995. 

Sam Martino, 85, died on Saturday, April 20, from a heart attack while mowing his lawn in DeForest, Wisconsin. His career as a journalist and journalism educator spanned more than 60 years.

Martino began his reporting career in high school and later received a scholarship to attend Michigan State University, where he studied journalism and was state editor for the Lansing State Journal. Following completion of his journalism degree in 1962, he continued the work he began in college with the Associated Press and United Press International (UPI) spanning 10 years as a contributing writer to the Washington Post, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor and The Capital Times.

He retired from the Milwaukee Journal in 2000, after 27 years of investigative reporting before joining the teaching staff at UW-Whitewater, where, for 12 years, he inspired future journalists and acted as advisor to the student newspaper. Most recently, he served as a regular contributor to the Edgerton Reporter.

Karen K. Parker, 77, founder of the (Ontario) County Line, died on Monday, April 1, at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse.

She started the County Line in November 1983. The newspaper initially covered Ontario and Norwalk, later expanding to Kendall and Wilton. Parker, who was known for her weekly Backtalk columns, served as publisher and later publisher emeritus for 40 years. She was active in the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and served on the WNA Foundation Board of Directors from 2005 to 2012. She worked part time up until her death. 

Alan "Al" Craig Dunn, 75, of West Bend, died on March 1, at Froedtert Menomonee Falls Hospital.

Born on August 31, 1948, in Milwaukee to Lee and Sylvia Dunn (Malak), he graduated from Milwaukee Tech High School in 1966. He went on to serve in the United States Air Force and later earned a bachelor's degree from UW-Milwaukee. Dunn worked for the Milwaukee Sentinel as a reporter, and later for the West Bend Daily News.

Former Wisconsin journalist Debra Claxton, 70, died on Sunday, February 18, in Greeley, Colorado.

Born April 22, 1953, to Robert and Barbara Willson in Manchester, Iowa, she graduated from high school in 1971 and attended Worthington State Junior College. She earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications in 1975 from Mankato State University, where she worked on the school newspaper The Reporter. She moved to Pepin, Wisconsin, in 1994 and began working for the Courier-Wedge in 1997 — first as a reporter and then the editor.

Ramon De Vere “Ray” Hansen, former owner of the Waushara Argus, died on Feb. 11, at Good Samaritan Center, Olathe, Kansas. He was 97.

Following his discharge from the U.S. Navy in June 1946, he attended the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism, graduating with honors in 1949. Hansen purchased the Waushara Argus in Wautoma, in October 1959, selling the newspaper in 1964 before moving to Kansas and marrying Donna Delight Toepper the following year. Throughout their 56-year marriage, the couple owned community newspapers in Kansas, Arkansas and New York.

Joann Schrauth, an accomplished writer and photographer for The (Fond Du Lac) Reporter since 1979, died on Tuesday, Jan. 16, in Fond du Lac. She was 82.

She began freelance writing in 1971 and joined The Reporter in 1979. Her work included covering local village board and school board meetings, as well as her own personal stories of miscarriages and loss. She was known for having a true sense of journalism and taught her children about bylines, shorthand, punctuation, proper use of quotation marks and Robert's Rules of Order. She received awards for her work from the WNA’s Better Newspaper Contest.

Lawrence "Larry" Robert Brunet, a former manager of the Milwaukee Journal office in Green Bay, died on Tuesday, Jan. 2, in Green Bay, after a prolonged battle with COPD. He was 84.

Born in Milwaukee, his family relocated to the Fond du Lac area during his childhood. A standout athlete, Brunet graduated from Goodrich High School and UW-Oshkosh, where he earned a full football scholarship. In 1961, he served in the reserves as a Marine before moving to Green Bay in his late 20s. During this time, he ran the Journal's Green Bay bureau. 

Stephen Maersch, a longtime Wisconsin journalist and member of the Milwaukee Press Club's Media Hall of Fame, died on Friday, Jan. 12, in Greendale. He was 86.

His early experiences included part-time roles at the Sheboygan Press and the The (Madison) Capital Times, as well as stints at the Chicago Tribune, Melbourne (Australia) Herald and Durban (South Africa) Daily News. In 1969, he landed a job as a copy editor with The Milwaukee Journal. "It was his best career move ever," he wrote in the obituary he penned himself. He worked at the paper for 25 years, retiring in 1995.