We will miss him terribly

"Our Roger is gone." With those words, Dawn Cribbs let her co-workers at the McCook Daily Gazette know Thursday afternoon that Roger Schmidt, the Gazette's long-time production manager, had passed away.

The sad news sent shock waves through the newspaper. Roger had been a fixture at the Gazette for 47 years, starting at 13 as the carrier captain and rising to the position of production manager.

Except for annual vacations, Roger was at the newspaper every day of his working life. Almost always, he was the first to arrive. That's why it was so unsettling Thursday morning when Roger's pickup was not in its usual parking space on the west side of the Gazette building.

Donna Sailors, the design supervisor, called him immediately after she arrived at work. "What's wrong, Roger?," she asked. "I'm sick," he said. "As sick as I've ever been."

Donna encouraged Roger to get medical attention as quickly as possible, but he waited until normal clinic hours. By then, Roger's condition had worsened and -- within hours -- he had two severe heart episodes, with the second resulting in his death. The suspected cause was pulmonary edema.

For the newspaper staff and Roger's circle of friends and family, the loss is devastating. In the 92 years the Gazette has existed -- and Roger was here for more than half of them -- he became one of the newspaper's most loyal and faithful employees. He took it upon himself to do so much. He dummied the paper every day. He ordered the newsprint. He took care of the equipment, often spending evenings and weekends taking computers for repair. He also scooped the walks when it snowed and helped out in the camera and page layout departments on a frequent basis .

Just a week before his death, Roger told the publisher, "We shot (made negatives) of 160 pages today, Gene." He was talking about Wednesday, Nov. 26, the day before Thanksgiving. "Is that a record?," the publisher asked. "No," Roger said, "but it's darned close."

A dedicated newspaperman to the end, Roger worked a full day Wednesday despite not feeling well. Before leaving, he took his pica pole and scissors out of his back pocket, and laid them in the center of his desk. With that act, Roger Schmidt closed one of the most dedicated work lives we have ever known.

We will miss him terribly.