FROM JOHN LOUGHRAN
I apologise for sending this as a group email, rather than to each recipient individually. Some of you may have already heard from me or other sources about the death of my brother, Gerry, on Wednesday, 22 November, 2023, in the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. To those of you who have not heard, I am sorry that I could not let you know sooner.
Gerry had been admitted to the hospital on the previous Sunday suffering considerable pain caused by gallstones, infections, and other complications. Sadly, although the hospital staff were able to ease the pain, they could not treat the causes. However, he was more comfortable when he died.
Gerry’s Requiem Mass will be celebrated at 12.05hrs GMT at St. Mary’s R. C. Cathedral, Clayton Street West, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 5HH on Monday, 18th December 2023, followed by burial at Lemington Cemetery, Union Hall Road, Lemington, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE15 7JS at 13.30hrs GMT. For those of you who would like to attend but are not able to, we hope to arrange with the Cathedral authorities for the Requiem Mass to be live-streamed. We are also arranging for a Reception with refreshments to be held straight after the Mass and after the Burial at a venue to be confirmed. To help us with our catering arrangements, it would be helpful to know how many are planning to come, but don’t feel obliged to turn up if obstacles arise. Likewise, if you are able to come at the last minute, don’t feel deterred if you have not let us know beforehand. All will be welcome. As you may know, Gerry regularly supported individual people living on the streets and so, if you want to make a gesture of remembrance, instead of flowers, family members suggest a donation to the Crisis at Christmas charity, or its equivalent in your neighborhood.
On behalf of my sister, Pat, brother, Joe, and myself, I want to thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers at this time.
That email came as a shock to the system.
I used to speak to Gerry quite regularly (especially at Easter, Christmas, and now and then) but because of my own health issues, I have been sidelined. I first met Gerry in 1960, the first day I joined the Daily Nation. He and Jack Beverly had already launched the Sunday Nation with others. He was a grand human being as much as he was an exquisite journalist. Friends and family meant to him more than any exclusive story. Over the years we enjoyed a drop or two of God's own special reserve, a single malt or two. Gerry's place in heaven was reserved the day he was born, that does not mean that he was a saint, but he did come close in that division. I am going to miss the man who devoted much of his life to editing and writing for our very own special baby the "Nation" in Nairobi. There is a legion of people around the world who knew Gerry or had the opportunity to work with him who will be in tears at the news of his passing. Above all else, he was an exquisite journalist, storyteller, and an exemplary human with a twinkle in his eyes. Besides work and friends, family meant everything to him. The world is just that bit smaller without him. My heart is breaking because I will never see him or talk to him again. He was also my walking, talking library, and dictionary. Sleep well with the angels my friend. God Bless.
JOHN McHAFFIE (One of a special breed of few
remaining pioneer Nation journalists) Courtesy of Nation.
- Gerry’s training was “old school” in the
best sense of the phrase and equipped him well for his career to come.
- And what a career! Distinguished foreign
correspondent for United Press International (UPI), news agency.
The great outpouring of affection from the
readers of his weekly column in the Sunday Nation following
the death of Gerry Loughran came as no surprise.
For, in his writing and in the way he lived
his life, Gerry was a genuine man of the people. He had the rare ability,
invaluable to a journalist, of seeing things through the eyes of others, which
enabled him to write in a way they understood and appreciated. It’s called
empathy.
Gerry lived by it, and it was evident throughout his long and distinguished career in journalism, as a reporter, editor, foreign correspondent, and ultimately biographer of both his own life and the Nation Group, which he helped to establish and to which he returned in various capacities over the years.Gerard was born in the village of Lemington, near Newcastle, in the north-east of England to a working-class family of Irish descent.
He attended the local Catholic grammar school
and, in his own words, “prayed about being a priest or a monk”, but also had a
nagging urge to be a journalist, “as I could spell, punctuate and write a
decent sentence”.
His instinct was correct, and his first
published words were in the form of a letter to John Bull, a popular national
magazine. Gerry was 13.
Vast practical experience
His ambition was later fulfilled when he left
school and joined the popular regional newspaper, the Northern Echo (est. 1870)
as a junior reporter and where he acquired the tools of the trade, including
shorthand touch-typing and the art of the interview. Gerry’s training was
“old school” in the best sense of the phrase and equipped him well for his
career to come, across continents and in many roles.
And what a career! Distinguished foreign
correspondent for United Press International (UPI), news agency. Bureau chief
in Beirut, Paris and Moscow and eventually appointed foreign news editor at
their New York headquarters. But his life narrative was most deeply entwined
with the Nation, beginning with a four-year spell as a sub-editor,
shortly after the newspaper was launched in 1960.
He returned regularly over the years to several key roles where his vast practical experience in all areas of media matters proved invaluable. Gerry was in his element. He lived and breathed newspapers. No surprise then that, when approached to investigate the possibility of launching a brand-new paper, Gerry threw himself into the project. Together with a team of senior editors, he crisscrossed the region for two years, talking to media professionals and potential readers to canvass opinions. The result was the launch of The EastAfrican in1998.
Made many friends
By natural inclination, Gerry was a modest man
and not one to boast, but it was clear in the way he talked about it that he
took great satisfaction in the subsequent success of his “baby”.
Away from the office, Gerry was everything you
would expect from a Geordie, the name affectionately given to members of his
“tribe” on Tyneside. Outgoing, friendly, with a unique sense of humour and a
lifelong interest in the fortunes of Newcastle United.
Through his international travels, Gerry made many friends around the world. It also meant he was a bit of a bon viveur, who appreciated a glass of vintage wine and fine dining. He was also an opera lover, particularly the works of Wagner.
In his final years, Gerry’s empathy extended beyond the readers of his Letter from London, when he signed up to sponsor young Kenyans under the Hilde Back Foundation education project.
One of my favourite photos of Gerry is of a related celebration in Kajiado. On the left of the picture is a young beneficiary of the project and on the right is his smiling mother. Sandwiched in the middle is the sponsor, a beaming Gerry in full-beaded regalia.
His caption: “The Geordie Masai”.
McHaffie is a former ‘Nation’ journalist
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