Gene Lourey

The metro media gave pretty short shrift to the death of Gene Lourey, whose death I wrote about yesterday.

His was a life story waiting to be told, and today the Duluth News Tribune (registration possibly required) told it. It’s as compelling a story as ever existed in Minnesota.

We newsies often think that the only stories are the big weighty world issue stories. Don’t get me wrong, they’re important. But people who raise a dozen kids, many of them adopted, become the “man behind the woman”, and prove that you can run a successful business, provide a living wage for your employees, and give back to your small town community, is big news, too.

When I put out calls here for you to tell me about the interesting people you know living their lives, and leaving a mark, guys like Gene Lourey are the kind of people I’m talking about. I’m kicking myself today for not telling the story when I had the chance.

Update 10/14 10:42 a.m. – I very much appreciate Chuck Haga dropping me a note from Grand Forks, letting me know of a piece he wrote in the Star Tribune in 2006 about Gene Lourey.