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James “Jim” Sheeler, a Pulitzer Prize victor for the Rocky Mountain News and journalism teacher who is remembered for his gifts arsenic a profoundly empathetic newsman and storyteller, died past week astatine his location successful Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He was 53.
A longtime obituary writer, Sheeler championed warfare veterans and their families, including Coloradans who were killed successful the Iraq War. His 12,000-word nonfiction “Final Salute” won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for diagnostic writing.
The work, hailed by the Pulitzers arsenic a “poignant communicative connected a Marine large who helps the families of comrades killed successful Iraq header with their nonaccomplishment and grant their sacrifice,” was aboriginal the ground for a publication of the aforesaid name, which was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award for nonfiction.
“Humility, compassion, curiosity — helium had each the qualities that you can’t teach,” said Todd Heisler, a photojournalist, workfellow and friend, whose ain enactment connected “Final Salute” earned him the Pulitzer for diagnostic photography. “He was truly a large listener. I deliberation that’s wherefore his enactment was truthful good, helium brought that to each communicative helium did.”
Heisler, present a New York Times unit photographer, said galore of those families had kept successful interaction with Sheeler done the years.
“He’d beryllium successful their surviving rooms, playing with their kids, conscionable taking the time” to study and constitute in-depth, affectional stories afloat of detail, Heisler recalled. “He truly cared astir the radical helium wrote about.”
Sheeler started his reporting vocation successful 1991 astatine the Daily Camera successful Boulder, including clip spent arsenic a concern writer. He besides wrote for the Boulder Planet, a play newspaper, from 1996 to 2000. Sheeler went to enactment for Denver’s Rocky Mountain News successful 2004, aft penning for The Denver Post arsenic a freelancer from 1999 to 2003.
Steve Knopper, who worked with Sheeler astatine the Daily Camera successful the aboriginal 1990s, recalled Sheeler proposing and penning a communicative astir a section bowtie manufacturer, and, successful the piece, Sheeler quoted the University of Colorado’s then-President Gordon Gee, a bowtie aficionado.
“You could archer helium had larger ambitions, helium had each these ambitions to write,” Knopper said. “He was burrowed into his machine astatine his desk, with agelong printouts that helium would people up. At the time, we each thought helium was crazy.”
Eventually, Sheeler turned to his journalistic passion, penning obituaries.
“He wanted to archer people’s stories,” said Knopper, a longtime friend. “Jim conscionable clicked with (obituaries). He wanted to crook it into a precocious art.”
Born and raised successful Texas, Sheeler moved to Colorado successful 1986 to be Colorado State University, from which helium earned a journalism grade successful 1990, according to his biography connected the Pulitzer website. Sheeler contributed to “Life On the Death Beat,” an obituary-writing usher for journalists published successful 2005. And successful 2008, Sheeler’s publication “Obit: Inspiring Stories of Ordinary People Who Led Extraordinary Lives” was published.
At the clip of his death, Sheeler was the Shirley Wormser prof of journalism and media penning astatine Case Western Reserve University successful Cleveland.
“While galore of you knew Jim acold amended than I, his cardinal kindness and decency were evident wrong a fewer moments of gathering him,” said Joy Ward, dean of CWRU College of Arts and Sciences, successful a letter to the university’s community. “While helium was a reporter, these traits inspired radical to spot their stories to him — adjacent astatine immoderate of the astir achy and susceptible moments of their lives. When helium became a teacher, those aforesaid qualities moved students to scope good beyond their ain experiences to chronicle others’ astir meaningful memories.”
On the university’s website, Sheeler said that his anticipation of students boiled down to a compelling demand: “Tell maine a story.”
“As a young boy, speechmaking precocious astatine nighttime with a flashlight nether the covers, I reveled successful stories of acheronian and light,” Sheeler said connected the Case Western Reserve website. “As a writer and teacher, I proceed to hunt for stories successful the shadows, revealing mundane doctrine and contented hidden successful radical and places that are excessively often overlooked.”
In 2016, Sheeler won the Wittke Award for undergraduate teaching. He was a Provost Scholars mentor, moving with students successful East Cleveland mediate and precocious schools.
Lynn Bartels, a erstwhile staffer with the Post and the Rocky, recalled her archetypal gathering with Sheeler. The 2 sat broadside by broadside successful the Rocky’s newsroom for a time.
“‘Well, I’m Jim Sheeler'” was his introduction, Bartels recalled. “And I conscionable said, ‘I’m not worthy.'”
At the time, Bartels was a large fan, arsenic she had been pursuing and speechmaking his enactment — successful particular, his glowing obits.
“He would manus maine things to read,” Bartels said. “I’d brace myself due to the fact that I knew I would beryllium weeping for the adjacent hour.”
Sheeler’s origin of decease has not been determined, according to Joy’s missive to the Case Western Reserve community.
He is survived by his wife, Annick, and their son, James. Plans for a work had not been finalized.
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