WILLIAM NEIKIRK Obituary

WILLIAM R. NEIKIRK
Bill Neikirk of Arlington, Virginia, a longtime Washington-based journalist who covered the White House and the economy for the Associated Press and the Chicago Tribune, died August 27,2020 after a long illness. He was 82. Born in Irvine, Kentucky, he joined the AP's Washington Bureau in 1969 after having worked for the wire service in Louisville, Lexington, and Frankfort, Kentucky, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He moved to the Tribune's Washington Bureau in 1974. He also served as the newspaper's Washington news editor, and later worked in Chicago as assistant managing editor for financial news. He was a syndicated columnist, and became a frequent guest on CNN and other TV outlets. He also wrote three books-Volcker: Portrait of the Money Man, about the inflation-battling former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Paul A. Volcker; The Work Revolution (written with Gail Garfield Schwartz), which described the impact of the technological revolution on jobs held by low-skilled workers; and The Copperhead Club, a fictional thriller. Mr. Neikirk received numerous awards and honors during his 48-year journalistic career. He won the prestigious Merriman Smith Award in 1995 for his presidential reporting, and the Loeb Award for business writing in 1979, and was a runner-up for a Pulitzer Prize that year for a newspaper series on the impact of world trade. In 2007, he was elected president of the Gridiron Club, a select group of Washington journalists. He is survived by the former Ruth Ann Clary, his wife of 59 years; two sons, John (Lisa) and Greg (Jeannette), a daughter, Christa (Kevin Chang), and two grandchildren, Matthew and Isabella (John). A memorial service will be held as soon as it is feasible. For further information, visit https://adventfuneral.com. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions be sent to the William R. Neikirk Scholarship Fund, University of Kentucky, at the Gift Receiving Office, 210 Malabu Drive, Suite 200, Lexington, KY 40502, or at https://bit.ly/2xwienB.

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Published by The Washington Post on Aug. 30, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for WILLIAM NEIKIRK

5 Entries

Joy Fogg

August 31, 2020

l knew Bill from our student days at the University of Kentucky where he was editor of the college newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel. He went on from there to have an outstanding career in journalism while being a loving husband and father and a loyal friend to his extended family and friends. Bill made a difference in many lives and will be sorely missed. My loving condolences are extended to Ruth Ann and family.

Paul McKibben

August 31, 2020

Somewhere I might have the clip where Bill Neikirk gave me a tagline. I was a very green intern in the summer of 1999 at the Chicago Tribune's Washington bureau.

Texas Gov. George W. Bush was visiting the Capitol that day. Bill asked me to stakeout Sen. Orrin Hatch who was also seeking the GOP nomination. I got the information and recommended to Bill how much play he should give it in his story. Bill used it but buried it in his story.

The next day, after seeing how his competition had made Hatch's news a much bigger deal along the lines that I had recommended to Bill, he told me that I was right after all. Imagine being a seasoned reporter and telling an intern that you were wrong and they were right.

It's a great lesson in humility and it shows what a remarkable human being Bill Neikirk was. May he rest in peace.

Howard Finberg

August 30, 2020

I had the pleasure and privilege to work with Bill during my time at the Tribune. He was a great colleague. Thoughts and best wishes go out to his family.

Richard Longworth

August 30, 2020

I worked with BIll for many years, first as a wire-service rival, later as a Tribune colleague and collaborator. He was simply the best, a first-rate pro, a fine writer and great reporter who could see the long trends in the daily minutiae and make sense for readers of a baffling world. More, he was an eminently decent man, fair in his judgments, with the ethical basis that defines the best of journalism. I was privileged to work with him and to know him as a friend. My deepest condolences go to Ruth and his family.