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James F. Christl, former owner of the Mellen Weekly-Record, died on Monday, Nov. 6, at his daughter's home in Phillips. He was 78.

A 1963 graduate of Fargo North Dakota High School, he went on to earn a degree in printing curriculum in 1966 from the North Dakota State School of Science. He began his printing career in Park Falls, where he worked at the Park Falls Herald and MacGregor Litho. On April 1, 1978, he and his wife Sandy took over the Weekly-Record and XL Publishing. His daughter, Kim, continues his legacy, publishing the newspaper today.

Susan K. Abendroth, a former employee of the Markesan Regional Reporter, died Sunday, Nov. 12, in Markesan. She was 79.

A 1961 graduate of Markesan High School, she worked at Green Lake Pharmacy and Green Lake State Bank, and pursued writing studies at the Christian Writers Institute in Wheaton, Illinois. Her career included positions at the Markesan Regional Reporter and the Markesan Public Library. 

Leonard Wagner, a longtime writer and editor for the Green Bay Press-Gazette, died Tuesday, Oct. 10, in Omro. Wagner earned a degree in history in 1958 from St. Norbert College. In college, he played baseball, wrote for the St. Norbert Times student newspaper and served as an assistant in the college news bureau.

After graduating, he began working for the Press-Gazette and its radio station WJPG, where he continued on part-time after being named director of news services at St. Norbert in 1959. In 1961, he joined the Press-Gazette as a full-time sports writer and in 1968, he was named sports editor. He also served as news editor, features editor and columnist over the years. He remained with the newspaper for more than 30 years, retiring in 1992.

Pat Schroeder, daughter of the former owners of the Lake Mills Leader, died on Oct. 5, at the age of 95. Born in Elmhurst, Illinois, the family moved to Lake Mills to run the newspaper when she was 8 years old. She was a 1946 graduate of Lake Mills High School and went on to earn her bachelor's degree in journalism from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and her master's degree in social work from the University of Kentucky at Louisville.

During college, she worked at her parents' newspaper. She then went on to become editor of the Madison-based Jackson Clinic's Better Health Magazine and spent many years as a therapist with families and children at the Comprehensive Mental Health Services for Delaware County. 

Stuart M. Shapiro, former publisher of the Belleville Recorder, died Tuesday, Oct. 3, at the age of 82.

A graduate from the business school at UW-Madison, he married Wendy Adams in 1983. Shortly thereafter, he took over operation of the Belleville Recorder, which had been owned by Wendy's parents. Through his efforts at the Recorder, as well as volunteer work with local organizations, Shapiro became a relentless booster for the village of Belleville. 

Andris Straumanis, a longtime journalism professor and adviser at UW-River Falls, died Monday, Sept. 11, at the age of 66.

A native of Long Island, New York, Straumanis was a first-generation Latvian-American, his parents having immigrated to the United States two years before he was born. Before joining academia in the 90s, he worked as a photographer, writer and editor at the Minnesota Real Estate Journal, the Elk River (Minn.) Star News, the Monticello (Minn.) Times, and the (Elburn, Ill.) Chronicle West. He was a faculty advisor to The Student Voice, a student-run news organization at the UW-River Falls, where he taught classes in print and online journalism.

Winneconne News publisher John A. Rogers, 75, died on Tuesday, Aug. 22, following a battle with small cell cancer and pulmonary fibrosis.

Growing up, Rogers worked alongside his parents, who were co-owners and co-editors of the News. The newspaper, which has been in publication for 144 years, has been owned and operated by the Rogers family since 1953. He purchased the printing company and newspaper from his parents in 1974 and served as publisher of the newspaper for 50 years until the time of his death.

John M. Terrill, longtime editor of the Ladysmith News, died Friday, Aug. 11, following a six-year battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He was 75.

A native of Green Bay, Terrill attended UW-Green Bay, where he was editor of the student newspaper, before transferring to UW-Madison, where he wrote for The Daily Cardinal and The Badger Herald and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism. He spent his entire professional newspaper career working for the Ladysmith News, joining the newspaper on Feb. 8, 1971, and retiring on Aug. 29, 2008. 

Former Wisconsin newspaper photographer Daniel Wayne Loonstra, of Menomonie, died unexpectedly on Thursday, Aug, 10, at his home. He was 69.

A native of Wood County, Wisconsin, he graduated in 1972 from Auburndale High School and in 1974 from North Central Technical College in Wausau, where he earned a degree in graphic arts. After college, he joined the Dunn County News, where he worked as a photographer from 1974 to 1978. During this time, he won several Wisconsin Newspaper Association awards. He went on to work in the printing industry and retired as a manufacturing technician from 3M Menomonie in December 2015, after 35 years of service.

Eileen Mary Evans, who owned several newspapers with her husband, Alfred, died on Wednesday, July 26, at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Rochester. She was 92.

Evans, who worked as a journalist for her high school newspaper, began a professional career in 1963 at The Atkinson-Annawan (Ill.) News. She and her husband owned and managed several weekly newspapers, including the Hillsboro Sentry-Enterprise in Wisconsin from 1980 to 1984. In Hillsboro, Eileen played a major role, writing stories and helping to manage the business. Many of the couple's 14 living children followed in their career footsteps, including Greg Evans, who owns Evans Print + Media Group in Sparta.