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Obituaries published in the September 2019 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.

PATRICIA KONSTAM
SAN ANTONIO – Veteran San Antonio journalist Patricia Konstam died July 13. She was 85.
A 1954 graduate of Berea College in Berea, Ky., she started her newspaper career with SA Magazine and went on to become the first female business editor of the San Antonio Light. 
In the late 1970s, Konstam worked with a local Catholic newspaper and covered freelance assignments for area publications prior to working for the Light.
After the Light closed in 1993, she went to work for the Express-News, writing about local economic development. Among her noteworthy stories were articles detailing the Air Force transferring the industrial sector at Kelly AFB to the Greater Kelly Development Corp., free trade with Mexico and the economic impact of the River Walk.
Former Express-News business editor Charlotte Anne Lucas remembered Konstam as a good friend who had a reputation as an invincible journalist. Lucas said that when she wrote a code of ethics for the
business news department, she did so with help from Konstam, who had set up a similar list of guidelines at the Light.
In 1999, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers named the Express-News section the “Best in the Business.” Lucas said the honor was in a huge degree a result of Konstam.
On Oct. 28, 1961, she married professor Aaron Konstam in New York City. They had been married for 53 years when he died in 2015.
In the 2015 online winter issue of Trinity Magazine, the Konstams were described as “avid readers” with a home that was “a virtual library of books and magazines.” The couple were also long-time volunteers at the Book Cellar Used Book Store, located in the Central Library’s basement. In 2010, the San Antonio Public Library board honored Konstam and her husband with the Library Champion Award.
She is survived by a son, David Konstam.
A memorial service will be held Sept. 6 at University Presbyterian Church in San Antonio.

EDNA KEASLING
MONTGOMERY – Longtime Texas newspaper publisher Edna Catherine Keasling died July 28 in Payson, Arizona. She was 75.
A native of Houston, Keasling began her newspaper career as a typesetter for the Conroe Courier in 1967. She joined the Willis Spectator in 1972, and in 1976 rejoined the Conroe Courier. 
In 1986 she joined The Bryan Eagle. In 1989, she was hired as business manager of The Madisonville Meteor. In 1992, when Granite, then Dixie Newspapers, purchased The Madisonville Meteor, Keasling was hired as publisher. 
In 1997, Keasling was named editor and publisher of The Boerne Star. In 2003, Granite bought The Navasota Examiner, and Keasling was named its editor and publisher. She retired a few months later. 
In 2008, Granite Publications Chairman Jim Chionsini asked her to step in as publisher of The Madisonville Meteor again, and she accepted. She retired again in 2010 with 18 years service with Granite.
She moved to Arizona in retirement.
She is survived by her partner, Robert “Butch” Minsky, three children, six grandchildren and other relatives.
Services were held Aug. 10 at Sam Houston Memorial Funeral Home in Montgomery.

JAMES DOYLE BARLOW
BAYTOWN – Veteran columnist and sports writer James Doyle Barlow of Baytown died Aug. 9 from complications after suffering a heart attack. He was 57.
A native of Oklahoma, Barlow enjoyed three careers in his lifetime: diver, newspaper sports editor/managing editor and mud engineer in the oil patch.
Barlow said he enjoyed the money from working in the oil business, but he gained the most satisfaction in the newspaper business, where he won numerous awards from Texas Press Association, the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association and other groups. 
He worked for the Marshall News Messenger and the Baytown Sun, among other newspapers.
Described by a former coworker as a “soldier of fun,” Barlow as also known as a consummate sports fan with a sense of humor.
He is survived by three children, two grandchildren and other relatives.
A celebration of life service was held Aug. 14 at the Church on the Rock in Baytown.