JERRY HEASTER

May 10, 1938 - October 10, 2012 Jerry Heaster, lifelong newspaperman, died at his home in Lenexa, Kan., on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2012. He was 74. Jerry spent the last 33 years of his life in the Kansas City area, joining the-then evening Kansas City Star in 1979 as business editor and columnist. He turned to full-time column-writing in 1990 for the Star's business desk upon its operational merger with the morning Kansas City Times. He retired in 2006 after suffering health issues. Jerry's journalism career began nearly 50 years earlier after enlisting in the Army out of high school and spending much of his tour of duty in the Far East. He worked for the Pacific Stars & Stripes while stationed in Asian outposts, mostly South Korea. After an honorable discharge, he remained in the Far East as a civilian, joining the Okinawa Morning Star as the 1960s dawned. The Morning Star was the daily newspaper that many English-speaking readers relied upon throughout the Far East. It was located on the small island of Okinawa, which at the time was a U.S. territory and housed a substantial American military and civilian population. Jerry worked there the entire decade in a variety of newsroom roles, including as news editor and as an on-the-town, society columnist. After marrying and having two children in Okinawa, Jerry returned to the U.S. with his family in 1970, eventually joining The Journal Herald in Dayton, Ohio. He began as a night copy editor before becoming an assistant city editor. In 1974, the newspaper began a search for a financial editor to expand coverage of business news. Due to his growing personal interest in economics, personal finance and the business world, Heaster was hired. It was his efforts to expand the Journal Herald's financial/business section along with his opinionated columns espousing free markets that led to Jerry's opportunity in Kansas City. His stint at the Star also afforded him a chance to combine his two passions -- writing and golf -- to author a book about Kansas City area golf courses. Jerry became president of the Society of American Business Editors & Writers, or SABEW, in 1980 when it was a fledgling organization with 150 members. By the time SABEW awarded Jerry its President's Award after his 2006 retirement recognizing his contributions to the growth of business journalism, the organization had more than 3,500 members. Jerry was born May 10, 1938, in Richwood, WV, to Gerald and Virginia (Orr) Heaster, and graduated in 1956 from South Charleston High School in South Charleston, WV. His interests included reading, drinking, playing golf and listening to good country music. He is survived by wife of 52 years, Shizue (Nagaoka) Heaster; daughter, Hope Heaster and her husband Michael Banco of Racine, Wis.; son, Randy Heaster and his wife Heather of Kansas City, Mo. He also is survived by three grandchildren, Bridger, Marielle, and Faith. He is further survived by his sister, Hope Conerly of Madison, Miss,; and his brothers and sisters-in-law, Akira (Masako) Nagaoka, Manabu (Fumiko) Nagaoka, Kazuko Nagaoka, and Etsuko Nagaoka of Okinawa, Japan. Per Jerry's wishes, there will be no memorial services. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Society of American Business Editors & Writers. P