WSJ’s Hamblin remembered for energy, optimism

Jennifer Smith of The Wall Street Journal remembers Seth Hamblin, the deputy global head of visuals at The Journal, who died of a heart attack on Sunday after running a race.

Smith writes, “Mr. Hamblin previously worked at the Washington Post, where he was national graphics editor from 2000 to 2007.

“Known for his energy, optimism and wide grin, Mr. Hamblin grew up in Marin County in California’s Bay Area. He studied music at the California Institute of the Arts and earned a master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He worked as a journalist in Egypt and Aruba before moving to Washington, D.C., where he met his wife and also moonlighted as a D.J.

“The couple married in 2010 and settled in South Orange, N.J., in a house chosen ‘because it was the smallest house on the market with the biggest yard,’ his wife said.

“Mr. Hamblin threw himself into new interests with gusto, taking up gardening and competitive target practice with equal vigor, Ms. Prescott said. A cat lover, Mr. Hamblin persuaded colleagues to adopt kittens from a stray the couple took in, and unloaded bumper crops of cucumbers and catnip around the newsroom.”

Read more here.