Charles E. Nicodemus Jr.

VINCENNES, Ind. — Charles E. Nicodemus Jr., 77, died on October 30, 2008, at his home in Boulder, Colorado, in the company of his loving family and friends. His wife, Virginia Nicodemus, daughter of the late Christine and Hugh Gutteridge, was born and raised in Vincennes and graduated from Vincennes Lincoln High School Class of 1948.

Charles was born January 14, 1931, to the late Charles and Treva (Richardson) Nicodemus, he grew up in the gritty inner-city of Chicago with his brother Wade, playing high school and college football, early on receiving praise for his writing ability from teachers and friends. He received his B.A. and M.A. in journalism from Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, in Evanston, Illinois, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity, and there met the love of his life, and wife, Virginia Ann Gutteridge. They married in 1952 just before he left for the Army.

A longtime journalist and investigative reporter, Charles started with the City News Bureau in Chicago, moving up to positions as a reporter and political editor with the now closed Chicago Daily News, where he wrote hard hitting stories about defective weapons in Vietnam, corruption in Illinois state and local politics and other important topics. In his final position as senior investigative reporter with the Chicago Sun-Times, Charles further pursued stories that tended to try and make Chicago and the State of Illinois a better, safer and fairer community in which to live. During his years as a journalist, he also taught journalism at Roosevelt University in Chicago, receiving numerous journalism awards in his lifetime, including the Peter Lisagor Award and was a member of the Sigma Delta Chi society of professional journalists.

Away from work, Charles was a loving farther who encouraged his family to be involved in a variety of activities, including camping, fishing, tennis, backpacking and mountaineering. Out of a sense of justice and fairness, Charles took time to pursue activities which further highlighted his purposeful life, including volunteering with the Illinois-based Dunesland Preservation Society, working closely with his son on Evanston Against Registration and the Draft and spending numerous hours in difficult negotiations on behalf of the Chicago Newspaper Guild.

In their last decades together, Charles and his wife Virginia found adventure and deep satisfaction traveling to different parts of the world, including Canada, Taiwan, Nepal, New Zealand and Ireland. He is survived by his wife Virginia, sons, Matthew, Andrew and James, loving daughter, Laura, brother, Wade, two grandchildren and a third on the way.

A graveside service will be held at Lawrenceville City Cemetery today at 1 p.m. (CST Illinois time) with Mr. Dennis Latta officiating. Friends may gather and visit with the family today from 12:30 p.m. till 1:30 p.m. (EST Indiana time) at Gardner-Brockman Funeral Home, 505 Main Street Vincennes, Indiana, prior to the procession to the cemetery service. Those unable to attend may send online condolences to the Nicodemus family at www.gardnerbrockman.com.