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Bob Wills, longtime editor of the Milwaukee Sentinel and champion of open government, died on Thursday, July 22, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. He was 95.

In 1951, Wills joined the The Milwaukee Journal as a reporter. He went on to serve as city editor for more than a decade and editor from 1975 to 1991, when he was promoted to executive vice president of Journal Sentinel Inc. He retired in 1993.

A strong proponent of government transparency, Wills was a founder of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and served as its first president from 1979 to 1986.

Theodore “Ted” Charles Edward Radde III, longtime publisher of the Sparta Herald and former Sparta City Council member, died Monday, July 12, in La Crosse. He was 73.

With his grandfather, T.C. Radde, and father, Don Radde, each having served as publisher of the Herald before him, Radde grew up in the newspaper business. He began his career with Monroe County Publishers at age 14, working his way up through the ranks of the company, which published the Sparta Herald and Monroe County Herald.

Radde became publisher of the Sparta Herald in the late 1970s, a role he held until his retirement in 2015, when the company was sold to current publisher Greg Evans. 

Bill Livick, a former Unified Newspaper Group reporter and editor who also served as a freelance restaurant reviewer for The (Janesville) Gazette, died Friday, June 18, after suffering a heart attack. He was 65.

Livick earned his journalism degree from UW-Madison in 1990 and went on to teach high school journalism and English on a Navajo reservation in Gallup, N.M. He returned to Wisconsin in 2000, joining UNG as a reporter and starting his freelance role with his hometown paper, The Gazette.

After several years covering the education beat in Oregon and Verona, Livick was named Oregon Observer editor in 2006, succeeding Jim Winter. He held the role until 2011, when he returned to reporting. He covered local government and politics until retiring in November 2018.

Beverly E. Connor, who was a longtime reporter for The (Fox Lake) Representative, died Monday, June 14, after a battle with bone cancer. She was 76.

Connor, who earned her accounting degree from Madison Business College, worked in accounting, finance, office and business management for most of her life. In 1993, she moved to Fox Lake and got her start in community journalism as a reporter for The Representative. She also handled advertising for the weekly newspaper, where she remained through her retirement, which coincided with The Representative's final issue on Dec. 25, 2014.

Jerold Johnson, whose early journalism career included a stint at the Marshfield News-Herald, died Saturday, May 22, in Farmington, N.M. He was 93.

An Abbotsford native, Johnson spent several years working in the business office of the Chicago Tribune before joining the U.S. Air Force in November 1951.

Following his military discharge in September 1955, Johnson enrolled at UW-Madison, where he earned his journalism degree before joining the Marshfield News-Herald's newsroom. After four years at the newspaper, he went on to work for the Douglas (Ariz.) Daily Dispatch and the Farmington (N.M.) Daily Times.

Louis E. "Lou" Brandt, a former WNA Board member who in the 1970s served as editor and publisher of the Chilton Times-Journal, died Friday, June 4, at his home in Chilton.

Brandt began working at the Times-Journal in 1961 and purchased the newspaper in 1970. He served as editor and publisher until selling the Times-Journal to Gary and Linda Vercauteren in September 1979. Brandt also was a member of the WNA Board of Directors during his time as publisher.

Mary Jane Spletter, who started her writing career as a reporter for the Milwaukee Sentinel, died Thursday, May 6, at her home in Oakland, Calif. She was 74.

She graduated in 1965 from Appleton’s Xavier High School, where she served as editor of her high school newspaper, before going on to study journalism at UW-Madison, where she was president of the Coranto Sigma Iota professional journalism sorority. 

After graduating in 1969, Spletter took a reporter role at the Milwaukee Sentinel, where she worked for four years before moving to Berkeley, Calif., where she went on to a long career in public information and technical writing.

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.