John Walter, former editor, publisher on Vineyard; at 61

John Walter was one of the founding editors of USA Today. He also worked at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. (Nis Kildegaard)

John Walter knew he wanted to be a journalist when he was 6 years old.

He started his own paper, wrote about his family, and distributed it to his neighbors. From then on, his passion for journalism only grew.

"Journalism was something he loved entirely," said his daughter, Lily of northern California. "Newspapers and journalism was definitely his life. My strongest memories of him was that he had hundreds and hundreds of old newspapers all over the house. He would go through them over and over again."

Mr. Walter, of Edgartown, the former editor and publisher of the Vineyard Gazette, died Thursday at Mercy Hospital in Springfield from complications after surgery for a facial nerve disorder. He was 61.

"John had an immense belief in a journalist's role in the world. He believed in truth, that people have a right to know things," said his wife, Jan Pogue of Edgartown. "He loved journalists. He felt there was duty there. He felt a good journalist could make a difference."

Mr. Walter grew up in Cleveland. He graduated in 1969 from Northwestern University, where he was the editor of The Daily Northwestern. After graduation, he worked at several papers, including the former Washington Star and the former Baltimore News-American, where his met his wife.

Mr. Walter was one of the founding editors of USA Today, where he became the senior editor responsible for cover stories and enterprise, his wife said.

"He was one of the most dynamic editors," said Richard Curtis, managing editor of design at USA Today and another founding editor of the paper. "He was infused with energy. He was dedicated to the paper and his family as well. I am devastated by his death."

From USA Today, Mr. Walter went to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he worked from 1989 until 2002 as managing editor and then executive editor. During his time at the newspaper, Mr. Walter oversaw the coverage for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and published a series investigating poverty in Georgia.

"John was passionate about what he did. He was passionate about his work. [There] was nothing like seeing him get excited about a story. It was contagious," said James Mallory, senior managing editor, vice president of news at the Journal-Constitution.

He led an in-depth investigation of poverty in Georgia in 1999 that resulted in a series of stories published over a six-month period. In an interview with the Columbia Journalism Review, Mr. Walter said the challenge was not only the reporting but also the presentation of the information.

"We wanted tears in readers' eyes, but we didn't want them to stop short and say 'that is not for me,' and turn the page," Mr. Walter said in the interview.

Mr. Walter left the paper in 2003 and moved to Martha's Vineyard. "It was an experiment to move to the Vineyard to see if we would like a smaller community," his wife said.

He was the editor and publisher of the Vineyard Gazette from March 2003 to September 2004. He and his wife decided to stay on Martha's Vineyard after he left the paper.

"Something drew them to the island. He got an amazing response he when he left the Gazette. It was the community that kept them there," his daughter said.

In 2005, Mr. Walter and his wife established a publishing company called Vineyard Stories that publishes books about and by people from Martha's Vineyard.

"We thought how many times we heard how people said they have a manuscript in a drawer or a book in their head and didn't know what or how to do it. But I knew how to do it. We gave it a shot, and see what happened," his wife said. The company has published 10 books.

His other passion was American history. He and his youngest son, Christian, who now lives in Edgartown, were obsessed with the journey of Lewis and Clark, his daughter said. In 2001, Mr. Walter organized a family odyssey following the trail of the two explorers. Over a three-week span, Mr. Walter drove his family along their trek from St. Louis to Portland, Ore.

"He was such a history buff," Lily said.

In addition to his wife, daughter, and son Christian, Mr. Walter leaves another son, Alex Pogue of Boston; a sister, Rosemary Giesser of Cleveland; his stepmother, Betty of Cleveland; and a brother, Mike of Lynchburg, Va.

A service will be held Oct. 4 at a location to be determined. The family will update information on the Vineyard Stories website, www.vineyardstories.com.