The first female editor for The Daily Cougar has passed away at age 61.
Former Unipresser Joan Duffy died of leukemia Friday in Little Rock, Ark., according to upi.com.
“I found my life, my career, my best, lifelong friends at the Daily Cougar,” Duffy said in 2009 to The Daily Cougar.
“And it happened because my application landed face up on the newsroom floor. The Fall 1970 editor Richard Stewart and sports editor Steve Pate bought a six-pack of beer for an evening of scrutinizing applications for the coming semester. There may have been more than one six-pack. They ended up throwing the apps up in the air those whose apps landed face up were invited to try out for reporter positions.”
Duffy later became a journalist and editor in both Baton Rouge and New Orleans, La., according to upi.com. She is survived by a son, two step-daughters and three grandchildren.
I was editor of the Daily Cougar in the Fall of 1969. The editor prior to my tenure was Ann Truehart. Suceeding me was Jeri Chesney, another woman. Her tenure was Spring 1970.
Joan Duffy wrote for the Cougar during my tenure, She was an excellent journalist and superior editor, she was not the first female editor. Sorry to hear of her passing.