Here are some of the things people are saying today about Rose Post, longtime reporter and columnist for the Salisbury Post, who died this morning at age 85.
The words come from readers, friends and colleagues:
Jim Hurley: Rose was irreplaceable. She could accomplish more in one day than most of us could do in a week.
She won more state awards for excellence than anyone in the history of the N.C. Press Association.
We all loved her as a person and as an associate on the job. We’ll miss her very much.
Elizabeth Cook: The Post suffered a great loss when she retired a few years ago, and we feel that loss anew today.
Thinking about Rose and all she has meant to the community is bittersweet. Her passing is sad, and our sympathies go out to the family. But Rose was such a wonderful, compassionate person — and a powerful writer. She leaves a great legacy to celebrate and remember.
Wendy Konzelmann: Rose was one of the nicest, most humble people I’d ever met. She was a true legend and a wonderful writer. She was always ready with a story and a laugh and never failed to tell me my hair looked great no matter what color it was (and there were many).
I feel lucky to have known her and privileged to have worked with her. You’ll be missed, Rose, but not forgotten.
Sandy Sides Greene: I’ll never forget how extremely kind she was to me when I first started working at the Salisbury Post. What an extraordinary writer (who ALWAYS complimented and bragged on the other writers. Her complimenting some of my writings meant so much more than any award I could have/was given because she was the best, a human being who was loved and will be missed by so many people.
Martha Bolmon: “Mama” Rose always looked for the “good” in those she came in contact with, and her stories always came from the heart. She would work hours on her stories, often into the wee hours of the morning and she often would forget to eat! Her desk was always piled high with story notes, pictures and other things related to stories she was working on. And she LOVED with the fury of a mother bear. Her love of family and friends ran deep.
Deirdre Parker Smith: Rose Post was my other Jewish mother and I will miss her as much as I miss my own Irish Catholic mother, for their love, understanding and constant worry about those they loved.
Frank DeLoache: One of my closest friends and one of North Carolina’s greatest journalists — Rose Post. She taught me so many things, and I miss her terribly. Please keep her family in your prayers.
Debbie Moose: I’ll never forget Rose for so many reasons, funny and serious. There will never be another like her. Reporting at The Salisbury Post was my first job out of UNC in 1979, and Rose was the second person I met after the editor who interviewed me. She found out everything about me in about 5 minutes.
She liked the idea of people being matched up. She called me one day at home and, without saying hello, asked me what my height was. Puzzled, I told her, and she yelled to Eddie asking if that was OK. Then she invited me to dinner at her house. The upshot was, she was fixing me up with her nephew, who was quite short. Nothing came out of it but a good story and a hectic evening in the bustling Post home.
I also remember when troops were sent to Grenada, I believe it was, and the Post had that awful computer system. Rose interviewed a mother of a soldier on deadline, typed it all in and it disappeared. Poof. Without a word, she called back and did the interview all over again. I think that’s probably the definition of professional.
Sue Price Johnson: My question: did she write her own obit? She will be missed by all she touched.
Cortney Hill Wilson: I’m so heartbroken over this! Mrs. Post was an incredible journalist, role model, and mentor to me when I was there. I know she will be sorely missed.
Susan Shinn: My mother gave me the best compliment I think she has ever given me this morning.
She said, “Rose Post will live on in you because you’ve got so many of her traits.”
I learned from Rose two main traits: tenacity intertwined with compassion.
Liz Hood: She was a dear friend from the time we came — she and James Barringer were sent to interview the new art professor for Catawba in 1971. I got to sit in on it. Rose will be greatly missed.
Kaye Brown Hirst: Such a very special lady with an amazing gift.
Mary Jo Simpson: She was a legend. Salisbury’s best promoter through story and history.
Lisa Staton Dyer: This lady was an icon in my hometown, and she was largely responsible for any dreams I ever had of becoming a journalist. May she rest in peace.
Phil Kirk: Rose was a compassionate, fiercely loyal person who cared deeply for her family and friends. She was a terrific writer and I would guess that she won more press awards than any other person in the history of North Carolina newspapers. Her stories captured the personality of the people she interviewed better than anyone I have ever known.
Rose was more than a prize-winning reporter. She probably had more friends in Salisbury/Rowan than any other person.
People “opened up” to her often personal questions and her stories captured the essence of the person in such an enjoyable manner. Readers could not wait to get their copy of the Post to read what Rose had written.
I have many fond memories of Rose, both when we worked together at the Post and as she interviewed me many times. She was painstakingly accurate. I remember when cell phones first came out and I was driving on the winding highway between Lenoir and Blowing Rock. The phone rang and it was Rose. She insisted on reading every word of some column she had written about me to make sure it was 100 percent accurate. Because the reception was not very consistent, we had to re-connect several times before she got to the end of the column.
Rose was also known for the length of her stories, and George Raynor (former managing editor of the Post), used to delight in measuring the length of her stories by the number of tiles in the floor of the newsroom.
Rose was like a “second mother” to me. (I have lost both my “second mothers” in the past four months. Elinor Swaim was the other one.) In fact, I told her things that I would not have told my mother! And she always gave me good, solid advice. One time she told me I was smart enough to be vice president of the United States, but not president. Coming from a strong Democrat, I considered that a compliment.
I also knew her as the proud mother of five children, and I was pleased to teach two of them. Because she worked unbelievably long hours, she often worried that she was away from her children too much, but I can attest to the fact that she spent a lot of time on the phone with each of them, as well as quality time at home. There will never be another Rose. We are all better citizens because of her.
Gordon Hurley: She was really a good friend. I loved her. Rose was such as wonderful, caring lady. When she wrote of anyone’s problems, help would soon be on the way from her loyal readership.
Jennifer Moxley: Rose was a wonderful mentor to this new, young reporter. Her desk was in the corner, piled high with newspapers and decorated with art by her grandchildren. When you sat in the chair beside it, you entered a world of solace where she welcomed anything and everything you wanted to tell her. I looked to her for guidance on how I could juggle the demands of being a reporter with my family life. She was always, always warm and compassionate, but stern and unbudging when it came to doing the right thing. What a sad day.
Shirley Porter Hoosier: She was a wonderful woman. So talented and caring of others. I still miss reading her stories in the Salisbury Post. Wish they could put all her stories in a book and publish it. Wouldn’t that be a wonderful book to read? May her soul rest in peace and my love and sympathy to her family and all who knew and loved her.
Lisa Eagle Shuping: I grew up in Salisbury and the first thing I always read in the paper was anything Rose Post had written! May she rest in peace.
Mary Knapp: When I moved here 14 years ago, I began to love Rose’s wonderful stories.
Vanessa Willis: My heart is heavy after learning that Rose Post passed away this morning. I had the great honor of working with her at the Salisbury Post and learned so much from her. She was at the Post for at least 60 years, and mentored generations of cub reporters including me, Natasha Ashe-Suber and Susan Dickerson.