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Obituaries published in the June 203 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.

CHUCK CARLTON

DALLAS – Charles Jay “Chuck” Carlton, 64, of Flower Mound, died April 25 in St. Paul, Minn., while completing a sports writing assignment for the Dallas Morning News.

A native of Macomb, Ill., he was born March 16, 1959, to Gerald Carlton and Nancy Elder (Carlton). He graduated from Colchester (Ill.) High School in 1977 where he was salutatorian.

Carleton attended Western Illinois University as a journalism major.

A life-long career in newspapers and media began in 1981 at the Macomb Daily Journal (Illinois) with sports positions at newspapers in Elmira, N.Y., and Rockford, Ill. He moved to Michigan in 1990 working at Booth Newspapers (M-Live Media Group) primarily covering the Detroit Red Wings and IndyCar racing.

Carlton joined the Dallas Morning News sports staff in September 2000 and provided coverage of the Dallas Stars, national college football and basketball, the Big 12 and SEC conferences, auto racing, and sports-related breaking news.

He is remembered by his colleagues as a “delightfully grumpy sportswriter whose unflinching work ethic over 42 years at The Dallas Morning News and other newspapers propelled him through a long battle with illness”

“Chuck garnered tremendous respect from the subjects he covered, his friends and coworkers at The Dallas Morning News and his colleagues across the profession,” said Garry Leavell, sports editor of The News. “And I know he had our readers’ respect as well.”

Carlton is survived by his wife Amy L. Taylor, a daughter, and other relatives.

Funeral services were held May 3 at Jones Mortuary, in Colchester, Illinois. Burial followed at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Colchester.

The family requests memorial contributions be made to the Dallas Morning News Charities, dmncharities.com, or the Associated Press Sports Editors Foundation for the College Sports Journalist Scholarship Fund, apsefoundation.org.

JEANNE BEULAH FRANKLIN SAMUELS

HOUSTON – Jeanne Beulah Franklin Samuels, who with her husband Joe Samuels published the Jewish Herald-Voice newspaper in Houston for 50 years, died May 12. She was 99.

Born Dec. 26, 1923 in Casper, Wyoming, her family moved to Houston when she was nine years old. She attended public schools and was among the first students to attend the newly opened Lamar High School, where she graduated in 1940.

She first attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied journalism and was a member of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority. She returned to Houston and later attended the University of Houston, where she met fellow student Joe Samuels. They married in 1943. During World War II, Joe served two years with the Army Air Corps in the European Theater.

Before they purchased the Jewish Herald-Voice newspaper, the Samuels had other successful businesses, including a record store that grew to an electronics and appliance store and later an insurance agency. They also worked in real estate. They always worked together as a team.

On April 1, 1973, the Samuels purchased the then-65-year-old Jewish Herald-Voice and became the third owners, working as editor and publisher.

Joe predicted that if they bought the paper, their lives never again would be the same. True to his prediction, late nights on press deadlines followed along with attending and reporting on events, editorializing on issues that mattered. Most of all, they gave a voice to everyone in the community, even adding pages to the paper when it wasn’t profitable, and unconditionally supporting the State of Israel.

Upon Joe’s death in 2011, Jeanne continued as editor and publisher. Like her husband, she continued working daily at the Jewish Herald-Voice well into her 90s. Her last physical days at the office were in the summer of 2022, at age 98. The newspaper continues to be a family operation with three more generations of the Samuels family.

Through the decades, Jeanne and Joe were honored by numerous local and national Jewish and secular organizations.

She is survived by three children, 11 grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren and many other relatives.

Funeral service was held May 17 at Emanu El Memorial Park, Kagan-Rudy Chapel, Houston, officiated by Rabbi Scott Hausman-Weiss, Rabbi Dan Gordon and Rabbi Pamela Silk.

Memorials may be contributions to Jewish Children’s Regional Service, Tillie Samuels Family Fund, P.O. Box 7368, Metairie, LA 70010 (jcrs.org) or an organization of choice.

WESLEY HYATT SWIFT

GALVESTON – Wesley “Wes” Hyatt Swift, former reporter and copy editor at The Daily News in Galveston, died April 23 after a stroke. He was 47.

He was born July 23, 1975, in Pasadena to Robert and Alice Swift. He graduated from Clear Brook High School in 1993, where he was part of the school’s newspaper staff.

He attended Texas A&M University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism in 1997. He went on to receive a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston in 2012.

Swift went to The Galveston County Daily News as a reporting intern in the late 1990s and was hired as a staff reporter after he graduated. He left The Daily News to work for Houston Community Newspapers in the early 2000s, but returned as a copy editor, a job he held until 2014. He loved movies and enjoyed literature that focused on history. He loved sports, especially the Aggies and the Houston sports teams.

Former colleagues remembered him as both a professional and friend. “Wes was a good man and a good journalist,” Daily News Editor Michael A. Smith said. “He had a keen sense of humor, but took his work seriously. He has been missed here and his death is a loss for everyone who knew him.”

His family has established the Wesley H. Swift ’97 Memorial Scholarship at Texas A&M University. Donations can be made at tx.ag/WesleySwift.