Beverly Kees, former Freedom Forum staffer, dies
By The Associated Press,
Freedom Forum staff
12.15.04
SAN FRANCISCO — Beverly Kees, a journalist and author who once was editor of the Post-Tribune in Gary, Ind., was struck and killed by a truck on Dec. 10, authorities said. She was 63.
Kees was walking a friend's dog about 11 a.m. when she was hit by the 18-wheel truck as it was making a right turn, said police spokesman Dewayne Tully. She died at the scene. The dog was slightly injured.
Police said the driver felt a bump after Kees was hit and apparently wasn't aware that she was in the crosswalk. The driver was not charged, and the investigation was continuing, police said.
"Both were within their rights," Tully said. "There was no evidence of any DUI and no violation of traffic laws."
Kees spent most of her newspaper career at the Minneapolis Star and Minneapolis Tribune, starting as a reporter and ending as an assistant managing editor. She also served as executive editor of the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald and executive editor of The Fresno Bee.
Kees was editor of the Post-Tribune from 1984 to 1988.
Along with Bill Phillips, she wrote "Nothing Sacred: Journalism, Politics and Public Trust in a Tell-All Age" while a visiting professional scholar at the Freedom Forum’s First Amendment Center in Nashville, Tenn.
She later conducted journalism education and professional journalism training programs and seminars for the Freedom Forum at its Pacific Coast Center, now closed, in San Francisco.
Kees was former president of the northern California chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
She was also a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, spending three years as an ASNE writing awards judge, and served as the Associated Press Managing Editors Association committee chairwoman, board member and secretary.