Mortimer P. Stern

February 20, 1926 - September 19, 2011 Mort Stern, former journalist and educator, died September 19, 2011 at the age of 85. Mort was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but grew up in New York City where he went to the High School for the Performing Arts. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps during WW II and was in cadet training at Stuttgart, Arkansas when he met a young woman at a USO dance. Pat Freeman reportedly told her friends on the way home from the dance that she had met the man she was going to marry. They married in 1946 when they were both just 19. In January of this year, they celebrated their 65th anniversary. Mort started his journalism education at the University of Arkansas where he got his bachelor's degree. He got his master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, was a Neiman Fellow at Harvard and got his PhD from Denver University. His academic honors include Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa and Sigma Delta Chi. Mort's distinguished career as a reporter started at the Arkansas Gazette where he worked for several years. He then came to Colorado to work at the Denver Post under the colorful editor and publisher, Edwin Palmer Hoyt. He started out as a rerporter but quickly rose up the ladder becoming the youngest managing editor in the Post's history. He also worked as night city editor, editorial page editor, and assistant to the publisher. Mort left the newspaper business after Hoyt's death and went into education first starting the School of Public Communication at the University of Alabama. He then went on to serve both as Dean and teacher at several journalism departments, including the University of Colorado in Boulder, Florida International University in Miami and the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley. He also served as Executive Director of Public Affairs at the University of Denver. One of his favorite jobs, however, was when he filled the Atwood Chair in journalism at the University of Alaska in Anchorage. Mort retired to the mountain town of Georgetown and turned his talents to helping the community. He served on the Town Board of Selectmen, the library board and the tourism board. He also played other roles in the community including - one of his favorites - that of Saint Nicholas during the town's annual Christmas Market. Mort is survived by his wife, Pat, his daughters Suzie McConnell and Meg Stern, and his brother Ed Stern.