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Former reporter Jean A. Vanden Branden died on Feb. 14 at the age of 94.

A native of Green Bay, she was born on Sept. 21, 1928, to Helena (Denissen) and Charles Katers. She graduated in 1946 from St. Joseph’s Academy in Green Bay. Later, she obtained her broker’s license in real estate and worked as a reporter for the Catholic monthly newspaper, The Compass. 

Richard Craig Heine, 73, of Delavan, died on Monday, Jan. 30, at Vintage on the Ponds in Delavan. A native of New London, Heine became a small-town newspaper reporter and photographer before transitioning to corporate communications at Rexnord Corporation. He later moved onto a role in employee communications and promotions at the Milwaukee Journal.

Joyce Pattee, a former sales employee for The (Fond du Lac) Reporter, died on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Prairie Ridge in Waupun at the age of 90.

Pattee was born on May 16, 1932, in Fond du Lac, to Warren and Frances Bentley Balson. She was a graduate of Goodrich High School in Fond du Lac. Following graduation, she was employed in the advertising department of The Reporter. 

Mary Ruth Schmutzler, former editor of the Deerfield Independent, died on Jan. 18 in Shawano, following a long illness. She was 73.

After graduating, she was named editor of the Deerfield Independent, and in January 1972, she wed Dean Schmutzler in Beaver Dam. In 1974, they moved to Green Bay, where she became the news editor for the Catholic Diocese newspaper The Spirit. The couple also later published the Northeast Wisconsin edition of the Builder/Architect magazine.

Frederick "Fred" Herman Keller, a longtime reporter for the Sussex Sun, died Thursday, Jan. 12, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He was 91.

Keller worked as a reporter for the newspaper — now Northwest Now — for nearly 40 years. While at the newspaper, he covered city news and sporting events.

William Burl Blankenburg, professor emeritus of the UW-Madison School of Journalism, died on Jan. 1, in Palo Alto, California, at the age of 90.

In 1968, Blankenburg moved to Madison to accept a teaching position at UW. In his nearly 30-year academic career, he instructed thousands of undergraduate journalism students, advised countless master's and Ph.D. candidates, and published original research and books in the field of newspaper economics and the societal effects of mass media.

Edward Byrne, a longtime Wisconsin journalist, died on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the age of 74. Most recently, he worked as a reporter for The Brillion News, where he covered local schools and government. He held the position for 13 before suffering a major stroke on April 1.

Prior to joining The Brillion News, Byrne served as a reporter an editor for Gannett newspapers in Wisconsin — including the Green Bay Press-Gazette and (Appleton) Post-Crescent — from 1996 to 2008.

Vernice Mae Evans, a longtime employee of the New Richmond News, died on Sunday, Nov. 20, at St. Croix Health Center in New Richmond. She was 101.

Evans held many roles over the course of her life and later joined the New Richmond News, where she worked for nearly 25 years as a receptionist, proofreader, columnist and assistant to the editor. She retired from the News at the age of 97.

Linda S. Godfrey, who first reported on what became known as "The Beast of Bray Road," died on Nov. 27 at Agrace Hospital in Janesville. She was 71.

In 1991, Godfrey was a reporter for Walworth County Week, a weekly supplement to The (Janesville) Gazette, when she was assigned to cover alleged sightings of a purported humanoid wolf-like creature near Elkhorn. "The Beast of Bray Road" has since become a part of Wisconsin folklore and has been the subject of multiple books, documentaries and a 2005 horror film.

Thomas "Tom" D. Bell, former fifth-generation publisher of the Ladysmith News, died unexpectedly on Tuesday, Nov. 29, at Our House Memory Care in Chippewa Falls. He was 80.

Tom served as publisher of the Ladysmith News until his retirement in 2004. He was succeeded by his brother, Jim Bell, who is the newspaper's current publisher.