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Obituaries published in the February 2022 edition of the Texas Press Messenger.

SUZANNE BROWN BARDWELL
GLADEWATER – Award-winning journalist and journalism educator Suzanne Brown Bardwell, wife of TPA President Jim Bardwell, died Jan. 7 following a traffic accident in Longview. She was 66.
Through her family’s company Bardwell Ink, she was co-owner of the Gladewater Mirror, the White Oak Independent and the Lindale News & Times. 
She served as president of the North & East Texas Press Association, and her columns won multiple awards in the Texas Better Newspaper Contest. She also was active on the TPA Legislative Advisory Committee, helping to stave off bills that would limit freedom of the press, open records, open meetings and public notices.
Her long career in education included teaching positions with Gilmer ISD, Spring Hill ISD and White Oak ISD, where she was the adviser for the national award-winning yearbook and student newspaper. She also served as a U.S. history adjunct instructor for Kilgore College for 12 years while teaching high school journalism, psychology and sociology. In 2013, she was named the Max R. Haddick Teacher of the Year by the University Interscholastic League (UIL), an award presented annually to the best high school journalism instructor in Texas. She also was awarded the 2006 Interscholastic League Press Conference Edith Fox King Award recognizing yearbook and newspaper advisers and the Texas Exes Excellence in Teaching Award in 2007.
After retiring from teaching, she became very active in the Texas Retired Teachers Association and was instrumental in rallying retired teachers from across the state to get better retirement benefits through the Texas Legislature.
A native of Corsicana, she graduated from East Texas State University with bachelor of science and master of science degrees in U.S. history and bachelor of science degree in social studies/English/psychology/science. She also earned an associate of general education in general studies from Navarro College.
Mrs. Bardwell was very active in Gladewater and White Oak, being honored with the “Woman of the Year” award by both communities. She was a member of the Friends of Lee Library, Gladewater Chamber of Commerce, Gladewater Education Foundation and many other groups and associations. She helped save Gladewater’s Manna House and the Gladewater Lee Library by raising money to help keep the local food bank operating and securing grants to help rebuild the library after damage from last year’s winter storm. She also spearheaded and chaired Gladewater’s Beautification Committee.
In addition to her husband of 46 years, Jim, she is survived by their son Josh, her mother and other relatives.
Memorial services were held Jan. 14 at First Christian Church in Longview. Burial followed Jan. 15 at Hamilton Beeman Cemetery in Corsicana.
Memorial donations may be sent to a memorial fund in Suzanne Brown Bardwell’s name established at City National Bank in Gladewater or the Gladewater Mirror Office.

JEANE SPENCER BARTLETT
AMARILLO – Jeane Spencer Bartlett, retired from the Amarillo Globe News, died on Jan. 2. She was 95.
She was a 55-year employee of the Amarillo Globe News, serving from 1945 to 2001. She worked five years in the classified advertising department, then became secretary to a number of the executives in 1950. In 1972 she was named the newspaper’s first personnel director, a position she held until retirement.
She directed the newspaper-sponsored National Spelling Bee for over 30 years.
She was inducted into the Panhandle Press Hall of Fame in 2004. In 1993, she was the recipient of a special award given by the Newspaper Personnel Relations Association for her work in the human resource field. She was honored by West Texas State University with the Distinguished Service Award. She participated in Leadership Texas in 1987 and was a lifetime member of Beta Sigma Phi.
Bartlett was active in the community and volunteered with a number of organizations, including the Chamber of Commerce. The Women’s Division named her the first Woman of the Year in 1990. She was secretary to the board of the Amarillo Chapter of the American Red Cross. Amarillo Women’s Network honored her with a lifetime achievement award. 
She married Harry Bartlett, also a Globe News employee, in 1959. He preceded her in death.
She is survived by several nieces and nephews.
Memorial services were held Jan. 5 at First Baptist Church Chapel. Private graveside services followed at Llano Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the First Baptist Church of Amarillo.

MIKE COCHRAN
FORT WORTH – Texas Newspaper Hall of Fame honoree Mike Cochran, who spent 44 years working for the Associated Press in Texas and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, died Jan. 11. He was 85.
Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Cochran grew up in Stamford and graduated from the University of North Texas in Denton.
He started his career at Denton and Abilene newspapers before joining the Associated Press in Dallas in 1960 and established the AP’s Fort Worth office the following year. In 1999, he left AP and went on to work for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram for another five years.
As a roving reporter and author, Cochran spent his career exploring the dizzying heights and murky depths of Texas for The Associated Press to write some of the Lone Star State’s and the nation’s biggest headline-grabbing stories of the last 40 years of the 20th century.
Reports filed by Cochran gave readers close-in, detail-rich views of events in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the University of Texas Tower shooting, the Apollo 11 moon mission, the T. Cullen Davis murder trial, the 1985 Mexico City earthquake, the Challenger and Columbia space shuttle explosions, political scandals and city-ripping twisters in Tornado Alley.
Oddly and notably, while covering the funeral of Lee Harvey Oswald in Fort Worth, Cochran was one of six reporters recruited as pallbearers for the friendless man accused of assassinating the president.
Cochran also wrote books based on his reportage. Among them are such titles as Texas vs. Davis: The Only Complete Account of the Bizarre Thomas Cullen Davis Murder Case; Deliver Us From Evil: A Trilogy of Murder, Ministers and Millionaires (with fellow AP writer John Lumpkin); and a biography of Midland oilman and former gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams — Claytie: The Roller-Coaster Life of a Texas Wildcatter.
Cochran was inducted into the Texas Newspaper Foundation Hall of Fame in 2018. He won numerous awards over his career, including Star Reporter of the Year from the Headliners Foundation, the top individual award given annually to a Texas journalist.
He is survived by his wife, Sondra, two children, four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Funeral services were held Jan. 29 in Fort Worth.

VAN CRADDOCK JR.
Longtime Longview News-Journal writer/editor and East Texas history columnist Van Craddock, Jr., died Dec. 31. He was 73.
A Gregg County native, Craddock was a graduate of Longview High School and attended Kilgore Junior College. He was a 1970 graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University, where he met his wife Bettye in journalism class.
Following graduation from SFA, Craddock worked in the sports department of the Longview News-Journal before he was drafted and served in the U.S. Army in 1971-72 in Vietnam, where he was the editor and cartoonist for The Army Reporter.
After returning from Vietnam, he worked in the public relations department for Lone Star Steel, then began working at the Longview News-Journal in 1978 where he served in many capacities, including reporter, city editor and entertainment editor. He also wrote a weekly history and humor column for 42 years, published in the News-Journal and several other East Texas newspapers. For years he could be heard each weekday morning broadcasting a program called “Craddock at Large” on KFRO Radio where he shared his wit and wisdom. He also worked in public relations at Good Shepherd Medical Center and served as communications director at First United Methodist Church of Longview, where he and his family were active members.
He wrote six books of East Texas history and collections of his News-Journal columns. The first book of columns was titled “I Would’ve Been a Lumberjack But I Couldn’t Hack It” (1991). The second book of columns, published in 2009, was called “East Texas Tales: A Celebration of Pineywoods People, Places, Facts and Fables.” His latest collection of columns was titled “East Texas Tales, Book 2,” published in 2014. He was also author of a 2006 book, “Historic Gregg County,” a project of the Gregg County Historical Commission; as well as a postcard history of Longview, published in 2010.
Craddock was a member of Post 4002, Veterans of Foreign Wars. He served on the City of Longview Historical Preservation Commission and the Gregg County Historical Commission. He also volunteered with the Gregg County Historical Museum for a number of years, co-chairing and writing the script for the annual Dalton Days celebration.
He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Bettye, two children, two grandchildren and other relatives.
Celebration of life was held Jan. 4 at the First United Methodist Church of Longview.
Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church, 400 N. Fredonia St., Longview, TX 75601; or to the Bettye and Van Craddock Journalism Scholarship at Stephen F. Austin State University, SFA Development Office, c/o Scott Allen, P.O. Box 6092, SFA Station; Nacogdoches, TX 75962; or a charity of choice.

ROBBY J. FORD
GONZALES – Gonzales Inquirer writer and contributor Robby J. Ford, 49, died Jan. 3.
A graduate of Gonzales High School, he attended Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in San Marcos, where he studied journalism.
He was also a musician and performed as a drummer with several area bands throughout the years. 
Ford won several awards for writing while working for the Inquirer. He especially enjoyed doing human interest stories and readers appreciated his down-to-earth writing. An avid barbecue chef, he published some of his recipes in his columns in the Inquirer.
He is survived by a daughter, his mother and other relatives.
A memorial service will be set for a later date.

JACK McNICKLE
Former Grand Saline Sun Editor Jack McNickle, 78, of Cambridge, Kansas, died Dec. 19 at Via Christi St. Francis Hospital in Wichita, Kansas. 
A native of Alfalfa County, Oklahoma, he graduated from from Northeastern Oklahoma College, where he played baseball and football.
He began his career as a journalist in Council Grove as a sportswriter. His career in newspapers included work in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Arizona. He worked for the Topeka Capital Journal as the beat writer for the Kansas City Royals and was sports editor at the Coffeyville Journal. He also worked in multiple positions at the Caney Chronicle. While working as sports information director at Coffeyville Community College, he began his coaching career as the college’s first women’s basketball coach. 
McNickle returned to his journalistic roots, moving to Grand Saline, where he became editor of the Grand Saline Sun, covering all sports and writing a weekly article called Always on Wednesday, a column that won many awards. Under his leadership the Grand Saline Sun won a number of journalism awards. 
He returned to college recruiting and coaching, working for the University of Texas El Paso, Southwestern College in Kansas, Cedar Vale (Oklahoma) High School and Wesleyan University in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. 
He is survived by two children, two grandchildren, two great grandchildren and other relatives.
Funeral services were held Dec. 23 at Miles Funeral Service in Winfield. Interment followed at New Salem Cemetery.

BILL NEAL
ABILENE – Bill Neal, rancher, retired lawyer, historian, journalist and author, died Dec. 23 in Abilene. He was 85.
A native of Quanah, he graduated from Hardin-Simmons University in 1958, where he majored in economics and was editor of the college newspaper. 
After serving as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army, he worked as a reporter, first for the Abilene Reporter-News and then for the Amarillo Globe-News. 
In 1961, he enrolled in the University of Texas Law School, where he served as comment editor of the Texas Law Review. After graduating law school in 1964, he returned to Quanah to practice law. In 1968, he was elected as District Attorney for the 46th Judicial District of Texas, which includes Wilbarger, Hardeman and Foard Counties. Retiring from that office in 1976 after serving two terms, he opened a private law office as a general practitioner with an emphasis on criminal defense work. In 1992, he was elected District Attorney again, this time for the 50th Judicial District composed of Baylor, Knox, Cottle and King Counties, where he served three terms. He retired in 2004. 
In retirement, he wrote several history books covering the stories of law and lawlessness of the West Texas frontier, many of which grew from his time researching old records in the basements of courthouses.
He is survived by his wife, Gayla Neal of Abilene, three children, two stepchildren and other relatives.
Services were held Dec. 20 in Quanah. Burial followed at the Quanah Memorial Park Cemetery. Memorials may be given to the Hardman County Historical Museum, 105 Green Street, Quanah, Texas 79252 or Downtown Medicine Mound Museum, 292 Spur 91 South, Medicine Mound, Texas 79252.