Obituary – Death – Cause of death News : The Detroit Free Press and the journalism community mourn the loss of Nancy Laughlin, a beloved figure with over four decades in the newspaper industry. Laughlin, who passed away at the age of 72, spent 24 years at the Free Press, holding various key positions such as managing editor. She was known for her guidance, mentorship, and ability to elevate both stories and lives within the newsroom.
Laughlin’s impact on those around her was profound. She had a keen eye for detail, a knack for storytelling, and a compassionate approach to leadership. Colleagues remember her as a source of wisdom, support, and inspiration. Laughlin’s dedication to journalism and nurturing young talent left a lasting legacy in the Detroit media landscape.
Throughout her career, Laughlin faced challenges with resilience and grace, from managing big news events to mentoring aspiring journalists. Her passion for local journalism and commitment to impactful storytelling set her apart as a leader in the field. Laughlin’s influence extended beyond the newsroom, shaping the careers of many who crossed her path.
In times of crisis, Laughlin’s strengths truly shone. She thrived on organizing coverage during major events, ensuring that the Free Press delivered timely and accurate news to its readers. Her dedication to excellence and her relentless pursuit of quality journalism set a high standard for her colleagues.
Laughlin’s legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of those she touched. Her impact on the Detroit media community is immeasurable, and her memory will continue to inspire future generations of journalists. Nancy Laughlin’s dedication to her craft, her colleagues, and the stories she told will forever be remembered in the annals of journalism. Nancy Marie Laughlin, known for her mysterious powers and unwavering dedication to journalism, was a force to be reckoned with in the newsroom. Her nose had a tendency to glow before major events unfolded, leading to typhoons and political shifts. She was described as the steward of tradition and lore, always making sure to give the go-ahead before making any decisions.
Growing up in Ohio, Nancy was the typical bossy sister who was intelligent and curious. She was always reading and asking questions, a trait that followed her throughout her career in journalism. Despite never marrying or having children, Nancy understood the responsibilities of family and was always there for her loved ones in times of need.
In her newspaper career, Nancy started at a typewriter and adapted to the ever-changing landscape of digital journalism. She was known as a storyteller, sharing tales that spanned all eras and teaching valuable lessons to her colleagues. Her calm demeanor and leadership skills were especially evident during chaotic times, such as when Gerald Ford passed away.
Nancy’s legacy lives on in the hearts of those who knew her. She was a mentor, a friend, and a dedicated journalist who always put her team first. Her ability to navigate tough situations with grace and confidence earned her the respect and admiration of her peers. Nancy Laughlin may have been a mystery to some, but to those who knew her best, she was a true journalistic legend. Laughlin was a remarkable editor and writer whose essays on social media showcased her talent and wit. One memorable story involved a fan falling on her head, leading to a trip to the ER with the support of a colleague. Through her writing, Laughlin shared personal struggles and lessons, inspiring others to be more compassionate towards themselves.
Her journey to China, where she marveled at the construction of the Three Gorges Dam, was a mix of hardship and joy. Despite battling COPD, Laughlin planned to have her ashes scattered in the Yangtze River, but ultimately chose to be laid to rest near her parents.
In her final essay, Laughlin reflected on caring for her parents and decided to remain close to them even in death. Her legacy lives on through her family, including her husband and sister, as well as nieces and nephews.
Laughlin’s story is one of resilience, compassion, and the importance of self-care. Her words remind us to be kind to ourselves and to reach out for help when needed. As we honor her memory, we are inspired to face life’s challenges with courage and grace, knowing that everything will work out in the end.
In the words of Laughlin’s father, engraved on her marker, “Everything really does work out OK in the end.” Laughlin’s legacy is a testament to the power of storytelling and the impact one person can have on those around them. The importance of SEO in today’s digital landscape cannot be overstated. SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This is crucial for businesses looking to increase their online visibility and drive more organic traffic to their site.
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Nancy Laughlin, retired Free Press managing editor, dies at 72
As much as she loved newspapers, she loved and nurtured the people who produced them.
Aghast at a foolish and quickly infamous mistake, one Free Press copy editor was ashamed to even come to work. His headline was so egregious it drew ridicule from the industry’s best-read blog.
Laughlin sent the copy editor an email, assuring him that “I know that feeling. It’s a blip, and it will all be over soon.”
That copy editor, Dan Austin, listened to Laughlin and in his own tenure at Free Press went on to join the Editorial Board.
“I can’t imagine her not being there,” said Austin, now the communications director for Ford’s Michigan Central Station restoration. “What the heck do I do, who do I get advice from, if I can’t pick up the phone and call Nan?”
Badgered by a difficult editor years earlier, a talented reporter was ready to quit journalism. Laughlin sent the reporter to Europe, with a dream job as a one-man foreign bureau.
“She completely changed the trajectory of my life and career,” said Neely Tucker, the reporter who didn’t even own a passport until Laughlin told him, “I want you to go abroad and do great things for me.”
He did them for seven years in Europe and then Africa, adopted a baby from a Zimbabwean orphanage, spent 17 years stateside with The Washington Post, wrote four books, and now writes and edits at the Library of Congress, “and none of it happens without Nancy Laughlin.”
Those two, of course, are just the tip of the iceberg – a cliche Laughlin might well have excised from a story.
Blunt when she needed to be, calm when situations invited chaos, and somehow well versed in almost every topic that flowed through the newsroom, she came to Detroit in January 1992 after the Dallas Times Herald abruptly folded.
Earlier stops included the Fort Wayne, Indiana, Journal Gazette, where she rose from reporter to city editor, and the Miami Herald, where she was a suburban bureau chief and then assistant city editor.
She was devoted and focused enough that only hours after picking the man who sexually assaulted her from a police lineup in Fort Wayne, she reported for work. She was vulnerable and open enough that years after her 2015 retirement, she wrote wrenchingly on social media about the enduring trauma from the attack that she realized she could no longer try to ignore. She adored cats, dogs and her colleagues’ children. She oversaw a collection of 500-plus snow globes, most of them brought back from staffers’ various adventures.
She reveled in a long-ago trip to China, even if it involved a 13-hour train ride in a jam-packed rail car with 130 farmers and a live chicken, and decreed as her health faltered that her own journey would end there – though she ultimately edited that decision.
She loved guiding young talent.
“People often say, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ And for many aspiring newsroom leaders, Nancy Laughlin — with her drive and passion for local journalism — was what we saw,” said Nicole Avery Nichols, editor and vice president of the Detroit Free Press. “Nancy Laughlin was a superior journalist with an ear for beautiful writing and impactful stories. She was also a mentor and friend to generations of metro Detroit journalists.”
And she loved a big story.
“Her strengths came through in a crisis,” said Peter Gavrilovich, who worked with Laughlin on the nation/world desk. Be it the impeachment of Bill Clinton, the death of Princess Diana or the invasion of Iraq, “she thrived on organizing coverage.”
Laughlin “was not averse to ripping up page 1 for the slightest improvement in a story,” Gavrilovich said, “and she often was among the last persons to leave the newsroom when there were no more opportunities to stop the presses.”
As for the extra-slow nights, when, as she defined it, there was nothing on the front page to make someone drop quarters into a vending box, she was in charge of Frosty.
A 30-inch-tall plastic snowman with a red light for a nose, he stood atop a file cabinet.
She would fight for your byline. She had your back.” Laughlin’s dedication to her work and her colleagues was unmatched, making her a beloved figure in the newsroom. Her ability to navigate the ever-changing landscape of journalism, from typewriters to the internet, showcased her adaptability and resilience. Laughlin’s legacy lives on through the countless journalists she mentored and inspired throughout her career. Her mysterious powers may have only been unleashed rarely, but her impact on the world of journalism was profound and everlasting.
What kind of essays did Laughlin begin posting on social media in fall 2023?
Laughlin began posting essays on social media in fall 2023 – some funny, some poignant, some both, and all making it clear that at the same time she was a stellar editor, she could have been among the best writers in the building.
Can you share an example of an incident that Laughlin wrote about in her essays?
One incident from the “both” category involved a newly and poorly installed fan falling from her kitchen ceiling and smacking her in the head, prompting an abbreviated work shift and a trip to the Henry Ford Hospital emergency room.
What was the lesson that Laughlin conveyed in her writing?
The moral of her story was that whether your challenge is a “street fight, knife-wielding drunk or runaway ceiling fan, life is tough and we’re all in it together.”
What revelation did Laughlin have during her trip to China?
During her trip to China, Laughlin had a revelation that if she could face the conditions and mayhem she encountered during her journey, she would be able to do anything for the rest of her life.
What did Laughlin plan for her ashes after her passing?
In her will, Laughlin initially planned for her ashes to be scattered in the Yangtze River in China. However, she later altered her plans and purchased two plots near her parents at Mount Evergreen Cemetery in Jackson.
Nancy Laughlin was a force to be reckoned with in the newsroom, always knowing the right words to say, where to make cuts, and how to deliver both admonition and comfort simultaneously. She had a sharp wit, often joking that she could even trim down the Lord’s Prayer if needed. Her colleagues trusted her judgment and guidance, knowing that she had a knack for making tough decisions with grace.
Despite her tough exterior, Laughlin had a soft spot for nurturing young talent and supporting her colleagues. She had a knack for seeing potential in others and helping them flourish in their careers. Many journalists credit her with changing the course of their lives, whether it was sending them on assignments abroad or providing words of encouragement during challenging times.
Laughlin’s love for journalism and dedication to her craft were evident in everything she did. She thrived in high-pressure situations, organizing coverage for major events and never hesitating to make last-minute changes for the sake of a better story. Her commitment to excellence and her passion for storytelling inspired those around her to strive for greatness.
Beyond her professional accomplishments, Laughlin was a caring and compassionate individual. She adored animals, cherished her colleagues’ children, and had a quirky collection of snow globes that she proudly displayed in her office. She was a mentor, a friend, and a guiding light for many in the newsroom, leaving a lasting impact on everyone she encountered.
In her personal life, Laughlin’s strength and independence were evident, traits she inherited from her parents. She cared for them in their final years, showing the same compassion and dedication that she brought to her work. Laughlin’s legacy will live on through the journalists she mentored, the stories she told, and the impact she had on the world of journalism. They had moved in with her in Dearborn, where she resided before she retired to a home in Jerome on Lake LeAnn. She thought she was a lot stronger than she was,” Harvey said, “but she was kind of a marshmallow.” Laughlin had beaus over the years, Harvey said, but never married and had no children. That did not keep her from understanding the responsibilities and burdens of spouses and parents. At one point, said friend and former colleague Laura Varon Brown, the executive director of Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit, her husband had cancer, her younger daughter needed surgery, and Varon Brown had a minor cancer operation herself. “Nancy was the one person who always took the time to check in on our family,” she said. Former Free Press copy editor Reid Creager also recalls a kindness from Laughlin – one that involved her house in Dearborn and a resupply of libations, fetched by someone who lived close enough to jog home for it. Creager, now the editor of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Inventors Digest, had accepted a job with the Charlotte Observer in the fall of 2004. He expected to depart the way copy editors tend to exist, which is to say quietly. Not this time, Laughlin said. She hosted a going-away party exuberant enough that none of the late-stayers were driving, and affectionate enough that Creager felt wanted even as he was leaving. “For a largely anonymous guy like me to get a sendoff from the news editor at one of the biggest papers in the country, I was beyond humbled,” he said. “To me, it spoke volumes about her – that she had that kind of appreciation for someone who was with her in the trenches.” ‘Nancy’s driving’ Laughlin began her newspaper career at a typewriter and ended it with the immediacy of the internet. She began when desks had ashtrays on them and she might smoke two to three packs of Winstons under a tense deadline, and ended when COPD and other ailments insisted it was time to retire. A classic Irish storyteller, she unspooled tales that spanned all eras. “In our culture,” said Free Press web editor Brian Todd, who is Black, “we call it the grio.” The stories were entertaining, he said, but also instructive, as she taught him about news and absorbed insight from his expertise with computers and the internet. “She picked things up slowly, then right away,” he said. As for his lessons, one was a crash course: a bridge collapse on a previously languid weekend. Laughlin combed the available wire services, stitched together facts and descriptions, “and we wound up doubling the (online) traffic for an average Saturday.” Austin said he would take mental notes as he watched Laughlin work: “I’d pay attention to her trims and her edits and her word choices. It was like getting the word of the journalism god.” When Gerald Ford died the day after Christmas in 2006, Austin said, “some people were almost panicking – ‘What do we do next?’ But Nancy was always calm and in charge and had this way that said, ‘It’s OK. We’re going to get through this. Nancy’s driving.’ “ Sometimes, Creager said, that left no time for subtlety. Laughlin knew where the buck stopped. “She was like the Sparky Anderson of the newsroom,” he said, invoking the Detroit Tigers’ late Hall of Fame manager. “She knew everyone’s strength. She knew when to delegate and when to just say, ‘Because I said so,’ and sometimes a boss has to say that.” And, said Tucker, she melded an editor’s title with a reporter’s attitude. “She was absolutely on your side,” he said. “She would defend you in a meeting. Then she would call you up and say, ‘OK, what did you do this time, and cut it out.’ “ A revelation on a packed train Laughlin began posting essays on social media in fall 2023 – some funny, some poignant, some both, and all making it clear that at the same time she was a stellar editor, she could have been among the best writers in the building. One from the “both” category involved a newly and poorly installed fan falling from her kitchen ceiling and smacking her in the head, prompting an abbreviated work shift and a trip to the Henry Ford Hospital emergency room. The hero of the story was Joe Cybulski, now the Free Press’ news editor, who sat with her for hours amid the drug seekers and stabbing victims and everyone else gathered in a big-city ER. The moral was that whether your challenge is a “street fight, knife-wielding drunk or runaway ceiling fan, life is tough and we’re all in it together.” The most painful prose began with a tribute to the staffer who found her a safe, secure parking space, and went on to explain that after the assault in 1976, she put on a brave or even belligerent face while “I never told anyone except my mom and my partner that I was constantly on the precipice of full-scale terror.” It concluded, “Today’s lesson: Nobody’s asking you to be perfect − except for you. Give yourself a (bleeping) break. If you’re wrong, say so. If you’re afraid, say so. There’s a whole community of people out there just waiting to help you. But you have to reach out.” The longest post, befitting the marathon train ride, was about the trip to China. **Nancy Laughlin’s Career at the Detroit Free Press**
Nancy Laughlin, a graduate of Bowling Green, Ohio, State University, spent over four decades working in newspapers, with 24 of those years dedicated to the Detroit Free Press. She passed away at the age of 72 after battling chronic lung issues. Laughlin held various roles at the Free Press, including managing editor, where she played a crucial role in leading the newsroom through major events and ensuring the quality of the stories produced.
**Impact on the Newsroom and Colleagues**
Laughlin was not only dedicated to the craft of journalism but also deeply cared for the individuals she worked with. She was known for her ability to provide constructive feedback, offer support, and uplift her colleagues. Despite the challenges that arose, Laughlin’s leadership style focused on guiding and encouraging her team members to grow and excel in their roles.
**Lessons Learned from Laughlin**
One particular instance highlighted Laughlin’s compassionate approach towards her coworkers. When a copy editor made a significant mistake that garnered negative attention, Laughlin reached out to reassure him that setbacks are temporary and part of the learning process. This act of kindness and understanding motivated the editor to persevere and eventually advance in his career.
**Legacy and Final Wishes**
Before her passing, Laughlin made arrangements for her ashes to be scattered in the Yangtze River, a symbolic gesture tied to her adventurous spirit and love for travel. However, she later decided to have some of her ashes placed in a cemetery near her parents, showcasing her deep connection to her family and roots. Laughlin’s legacy lives on through her family members, including her sister and nieces and nephews.
**Remembering Nancy Laughlin**
Nancy Laughlin’s impact on the Detroit Free Press and the field of journalism as a whole is undeniable. Her dedication, kindness, and leadership continue to inspire those who had the privilege of working with her. As a mentor, colleague, and friend, Laughlin left a lasting impression on the people whose lives she touched, and her memory will be cherished for years to come.
Sources:
– [Detroit Free Press: When 7 Detroit TV and newspaper organizations got their start](https://www.freep.com/videos/news/2024/10/17/tv-and-newspapers-detroit-media-history/75716168007/) Laughlin sent the reporter to Europe, with a dream job as a one-man foreign bureau. “She completely changed the trajectory of my life and career,” said Neely Tucker, the reporter who didn’t even own a passport until Laughlin told him, “I want you to go abroad and do great things for me.” He did them for seven years in Europe and then Africa, adopted a baby from a Zimbabwean orphanage, spent 17 years stateside with The Washington Post, wrote four books, and now writes and edits at the Library of Congress, “and none of it happens without Nancy Laughlin.”
Those two, of course, are just the tip of the iceberg – a cliche Laughlin might well have excised from a story. Blunt when she needed to be, calm when situations invited chaos, and somehow well versed in almost every topic that flowed through the newsroom, she came to Detroit in January 1992 after the Dallas Times Herald abruptly folded. Earlier stops included the Fort Wayne, Indiana, Journal Gazette, where she rose from reporter to city editor, and the Miami Herald, where she was a suburban bureau chief and then assistant city editor.
She was devoted and focused enough that only hours after picking the man who sexually assaulted her from a police lineup in Fort Wayne, she reported for work. She was vulnerable and open enough that years after her 2015 retirement, she wrote wrenchingly on social media about the enduring trauma from the attack that she realized she could no longer try to ignore. She adored cats, dogs and her colleagues’ children. She oversaw a collection of 500-plus snow globes, most of them brought back from staffers’ various adventures.
She reveled in a long-ago trip to China, even if it involved a 13-hour train ride in a jam-packed rail car with 130 farmers and a live chicken, and decreed as her health faltered that her own journey would end there – though she ultimately edited that decision.
She loved guiding young talent. “People often say, ‘You can’t be what you can’t see.’ And for many aspiring newsroom leaders, Nancy Laughlin — with her drive and passion for local journalism — was what we saw,” said Nicole Avery Nichols, editor and vice president of the Detroit Free Press. “Nancy Laughlin was a superior journalist with an ear for beautiful writing and impactful stories. She was also a mentor and friend to generations of metro Detroit journalists.”
And she loved a big story. “Her strengths came through in a crisis,” said Peter Gavrilovich, who worked with Laughlin on the nation/world desk. Be it the impeachment of Bill Clinton, the death of Princess Diana or the invasion of Iraq, “she thrived on organizing coverage.” Laughlin “was not averse to ripping up page 1 for the slightest improvement in a story,” Gavrilovich said, “and she often was among the last persons to leave the newsroom when there were no more opportunities to stop the presses.”
As for the extra-slow nights, when, as she defined it, there was nothing on the front page to make someone drop quarters into a vending box, she was in charge of Frosty. A 30-inch-tall plastic snowman with a red light for a nose, he stood atop a file cabinet. His mysterious powers were unleashed only rarely, but it seemed that every time his nose glowed, a typhoon would strike or an aging foreign leader would breathe his last, and the news hole would fill. “Nan was the steward of tradition and lore,” Austin said, a category that included the repurposed lawn ornament. After careful deliberation, she would nod wisely and give the go-ahead: “Plug Frosty in.”
Always asking questions
The second of four kids, Nancy Marie Laughlin grew up in Bryan, Ohio, an hour west and slightly south of Toledo. “She was the typical bossy sister who was incredibly intelligent and always reading,” said Karen Laughlin Harvey, four years younger. BY NANCY LAUGHLIN: Tracing a love of journalism back to its roots
That meant Nancy Drew books, Harvey said, but also whatever their father had just set down. “She loved to write and she was always, always, always asking questions,” said Harvey, a nurse in Grand Rapids, who ultimately became her sister’s best friend. “It was like, ‘Omigod, shut up!'”
Harvey attributed her sister’s strength and independence to their mother, Lillian, an executive secretary who lived to 94, and her compassion to their father, Joseph, an officer at a manufacturing company. As an adult, Laughlin helped them both navigate dementia in their final years. They had moved in with her in Dearborn, where she resided before she retired to a home in Jerome on Lake LeAnn. “She thought she was a lot stronger than she was,” Harvey said, “but she was kind of a marshmallow.”
Laughlin had beaus over the years, Harvey said, but never married and had no children. That did not keep her from understanding the responsibilities and burdens of spouses and parents. At one point, said friend and former colleague Laura Varon Brown, the executive director of Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit, her husband had cancer, her younger daughter needed surgery, and Varon Brown had a minor cancer operation herself. “Nancy was the one person who always took the time to check in on our family,” she said.
Former Free Press copy editor Reid Creager also recalls a kindness from Laughlin – one that involved her house in Dearborn and a resupply of libations, fetched by someone who lived close enough to jog home for it. Creager, now the editor of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Inventors Digest, had accepted a job with the Charlotte Observer in the fall of 2004. He expected to depart the way copy editors tend to exist, which is to say quietly. Not this time, Laughlin said. Laughlin’s impact on her colleagues was profound, as she left a lasting impression on everyone she worked with. Her ability to lead with authority and compassion made her a beloved figure in the newsroom. Despite her struggles with COPD, Laughlin’s resilience and determination were evident in her work and in her personal essays. She inspired those around her to be honest, brave, and to ask for help when needed. Laughlin’s legacy as an editor, storyteller, and mentor will continue to influence those who were fortunate enough to know her. Oh, the stories we leave behind when we depart this world. The legacy of one’s life can be seen in the final wishes they make, the arrangements they leave behind, and the memories they leave imprinted on the hearts of those they loved. In the case of Laughlin, her final wishes were as unique and thoughtful as she was in life.
In her will, Laughlin had set aside money for her colleagues and eternal friends Austin, Todd, and former Free Press Executive Editor Robert Huschka to take a trip to China, along with their wives. It was a generous gesture, a final gift to those who had shared in her journey through life. As if that wasn’t enough, she had one last assignment for them – to scatter her ashes in the Yangtze River. What a poetic way to bid farewell, to let her essence flow with the waters of one of the world’s great rivers.
But fate had other plans in store. Just four months before her demise, Laughlin had a change of heart. She instructed the cremation company to place a few of her ashes in three small holders to be tossed in the Yangtze River. However, after much reflection, she decided to purchase two plots near her parents at Mount Evergreen Cemetery in Jackson. It was a poignant decision, a final act of love and devotion to the family who had meant so much to her.
“I realized that after caring for them for more than 22 years,” she wrote in an essay, “I couldn’t walk away and leave them on their own now.” It was a sentiment that spoke volumes about the kind of person Laughlin was – compassionate, selfless, and deeply connected to her roots. The new plots she purchased would be a place for visitors to sit and reflect, to bask in the warmth of the sun and remember a life well-lived. And her ashes would rest there, beneath a marker engraved with words from her father: “Everything really does work out OK in the end.”
Laughlin’s story is not just one of a life well-lived, but also of the connections we make along the way. She was predeceased by her parents and her older brother, Joseph, but she is survived by Harvey and her youngest sister, Susan Laughlin-Schopis of Columbus, Ohio. She leaves behind nieces and nephews who will carry on her memory, who will remember her warmth and kindness, her wit and wisdom.
In the end, Laughlin’s story is a reminder that our legacies are not just the things we leave behind, but the lives we touch, the hearts we change, and the love we share. She may have left this world, but her spirit lives on in the memories of those who knew and loved her. And for that, we are grateful.
Source: [Detroit Free Press](https://www.freep.com) I’m sorry, could you please provide more context or specify what you would like me to expand on? your knowledge and skills by seeking out new experiences, learning from others, and challenging yourself to grow and develop in various aspects of your life. Expanding can refer to increasing in size, scope, or reach. It can also refer to developing or growing in various ways. For example, a business may expand its operations to new markets or a person may expand their knowledge by learning new skills. Additionally, expanding can also refer to spreading out or unfolding, such as when a balloon expands as it is filled with air.