Sass, former Edmonton Journal biz editor, dies

Bill Sass, the former business editor of the Edmonton Journal in Canada, died from heart failure, reports Liane Faulder of the paper.

Faulder writes, “Sass grew up in Michigan and Oregon, but came to Toronto in 1969 with his first wife, Sue, after what he always referred to as a ‘brief spell’ in the U.S. Marines. Later, he moved west, landing his first journalism job at the Medicine Hat News. More than 40 years later, in 2008, he ended his career at the Edmonton Journal after holding positions as a humour writer, a consumer columnist, business editor and legislature bureau chief. He was co-writer of a comprehensive history of the Edmonton Journal, and a journalism instructor at Grant MacEwan College.

“‘He had the patience of a saint with everybody,’ says Murrie. ‘That’s why he made a good teacher.’

“He was also a creative father, engaging his children in his newspaper stories (including Andrea, with a painful experiment in hair removal). He drew cartoons on his children’s paper lunch bags, and insisted on essays for bad behaviour rather than routine punishments.

“Friend David Holehouse, who worked with Sass in the business section of the Edmonton Journal, said he brought a sense of calm to any situation.

“‘He wasn’t always joking around; he was a solid, steady fellow,’ says Holehouse.”

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