Michael Reginald "Mike" Bagwell

Niantic - Michael Reginald Bagwell, 85, of Niantic, a well-known, liked and respected reporter and editor at The Day for 30 years, passed away Wednesday evening, Feb. 26, 2025, at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. Mr. Bagwell, the son of the late Reginald and Ellen Bagwell, was born in England in 1939, raised and educated in London, where, as a young boy, he survived The Blitz during World War II. He was proud to be accepted as a Boy Entrant to the Royal Air Force at age 16.

He met his wife, Pamela Berry, in 1960, and the couple immigrated separately to the United States in 1962, to start a new life in the land of opportunity. Mike arrived first, followed shortly thereafter by Pamela and the couple's twin babies, all three having crossed the Atlantic aboard the Queen Mary. They settled in Greenfield, Mass., where Mike was hired to his first newspaper job as a reporter with the Greenfield Recorder. There, he was entrusted with a number of important stories, including an interview with then-Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey during his run for president in 1968. He later worked as a reporter for the Springfield (Mass.) Union and, after a two-year program at the University of Massachusetts, was named a New England Newspaper Fellow in 1969, receiving a letter of congratulations from then-Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

The Bagwells moved to New London in 1970, when Mike was hired by The Day as a reporter who would cover the newspaper's defense beat. "For several years, Mike Bagwell covered the defense industry," recalled Morgan McGinley, The Day's longtime editorial page editor, whom Mr. Bagwell succeeded several years later as assistant city editor. "During that time, he earned the respect of military officials both locally and nationally." Recognized by his superiors for his solid news judgment, meticulous editing skills and unwavering calm under daily deadline pressure, Mr. Bagwell worked his way up into senior-level positions in The Day newsroom, including assistant city editor, wire editor and news editor. He was appointed assistant Sunday editor and was a lead player in the start of The Day's popular new Sunday edition. He stood out among his colleagues for his steady work ethic, quick wit, dry humor and stately English accent, which he retained throughout his life.

"Mike was one of my all-time favorite colleagues," recalled John Ruddy, The Day's present copy desk chief. "He welcomed me to the copy desk and shared his desk with me because space was at a premium and our schedules were largely opposite each other. His irreverent and bawdy sense of humor always kept the mood light, and while he took his responsibilities as an editor seriously, he knew how to make the job fun." Ruddy recalled that Mr. Bagwell both covered and lived history. As a reporter fairly early in his career at The Day, he covered then-FBI acting Director L. Patrick Gray's testimony during the Watergate scandal in the early 1970s and his involvement with it. As a boy, young Mike and friends would play in the area of 10 Downing Street when Winston Churchill was prime minister, only to be shooed away by security officers. He could be both the instigator and recipient of newsroom practical jokes, once sneaking behind a colleague and loudly popping an air-filled paper bag behind him, and another time scaring Ruddy by placing a large rubber insect on his computer keyboard. Ever the Englishman, Mike reacted with alarm, losing his usually calm demeanor at deadline one morning when a colleague jokingly told him that Queen Elizabeth had abdicated the throne. "Perhaps his most notable characteristic was his vivid sense of humor," McGinley recalled. "He was a funny man to be around."

Mike is survived by his wife of 65 years, Pamela; and their four children: Karl Bagwell and his wife, Eileen; Karen Laskey and her husband, Bill; Phillip Bagwell and his wife, Kathleen; and Celia Kane and her husband, James. He also leaves seven grandchildren: Dayne, Kristin, Lauren, Sage, Nathan, Colleen and Liam: along with five great-grandchildren; his sister-in-law Jacqueline Bagwell and her daughter, Sarah. Besides his parents, he was also predeceased by his brother, Kenneth Bagwell.

The family has held a private memorial service.