PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — Funeral arrangements have been announced for James C. Smith, 65, executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, who died Wednesday at his home in Parkersburg.
In Parkersburg, there will be a visitation at Kimes Funeral Home, 521 5th St. in Parkersburg on Saturday from 3-6 p.m.
There will be a ceremony held at 6 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home, Pastor Janice Hill will officiate.
There will be a graveside service held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday at the Radnor, Ohio Township Cemetery.
Messages of condolence may be sent to the family by visitingwww.kimesfh.com
Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association or Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
By Brett Dunlap
Parkersburg News and Sentinel
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. — James C. Smith, 65, the executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel, died Wednesday at his home in Parkersburg.
”Jim’s death came as a shock to all of us at The News and Sentinel and we send our condolences to his wife, Mary Ann, his daughter, Susan, his mother and his two grandsons whom he adored,” said Jim Spanner, publisher of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. ”Jim was a lifelong journalist and we remember him as a true newspaperman.”
A 42-year veteran of the newspaper industry, Smith served as editor of five newspapers.
After a couple of years as the city editor of the Delaware (Ohio) Gazette and nine years as the crime editor at the former Columbus Citizen-Journal, he was named editor of the Piqua Daily Call in western Ohio.
He was named editor of The Herald-Star in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1984 and later went to The Review in East Liverpool, Ohio, before heading south to become editor of The Daily Iberian in New Iberia, La., in 1996.
Smith came to The Parkersburg News and Sentinel on June 25, 2001.
“This is a sad day for the West Virginia newspaper industry,” said Don Smith, executive director of the West Virginia Press Association. ”Jim was a veteran journalist and a strong leader.
”In newsrooms around this state, and far beyond, there are reporters and editors who learned this profession working for Jim Smith. Jim and I worked together for Ogden Newspapers and with the West Virginia Press Association. You could always count on Jim Smith for a strong opinion, a good laugh and a word of encouragement. He will be missed in his newsroom, his community, this state and the newspaper industry…”
