Jack Duane Fenton

1933 ~ 2011

Jack D. Fenton put a "30" to his life's story on Saturday, November 26, 2011 at a local hospital. He was 78. He spent 30 years as a reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune, Jack volunteered for the aged and underprivileged in Salt Lake County.
Born October 19, 1933 in Hutchinson, KS to Dell and Helen Fenton, he moved to Oregon in 1938. His writing career began in high school. His newspaper stories were noted for their wit and often double meanings. It was in his high school days that he began a life-long enjoyment of modern jazz music.

After two years at the University of Oregon, Jack went into the U.S. Army. Assigned to the Army Hometown News Service in Kansas City, MO., he met and married Patricia Workman on Aug 28, 1956. Sent to La Rochelle France, they returned and Jack worked for the Ottawa Herald in Ottawa, KS. They later moved to Milwaukee, OR where he worked at the Oregon City Enterprise Courier.

Jack's Tribune career began in 1964 as an assistant business writer. He was promoted to cover Salt Lake County government a short time later. He was a fixture at the old City-County Building, Jack often knew more about the workings of local government than its elected officials. His distinct speaking style, twinkling eyes and bushy mustache charmed respect from those he reported about. When Salt Lake County moved its offices to the new Government Center, officials made sure Jack had a reporting desk. Famous for his concern about the "little guy," Jack wrote stories about community issues. He took special note during the first influx of refugees in the late 1970s. His stories pointed out the critical need for language translators to help the new residents survive the complexities of their new land. Salt Lake County responded with bi-lingual services for many departments.

Jack retired from the Tribune in 1994. He became an advocate for the aging and disabled. He worked with the AARP and local senior citizen organizations. He was recognized for his contributions and volunteer work at the Liberty Senior Citizen's Center. One of his accomplishments was pushing the county to properly fund the Salt Lake Valley Health Department's senior citizen services. He was a member of the Catholic Church.

Jack is survived by his wife, Patricia, daughter, Kathrine (James) LeClaire, son Mark, two grandchildren and a great-granddaughter, all of Salt Lake City.
Jack was cremated shortly after his passing. His ashes will be interred at the Utah Veteran's Cemetery and Memorial Park, Camp Williams, at a future date. The family suggests contributions to Habitat for Humanity, the Humane Society of Utah or KUER Radio.




Jack D. Fenton

Jack Fenton, a former Salt Lake Tribune reporter who covered Salt Lake County government for more than two decades, has died at age 78. A gruff, blunt interviewer, Fenton was known for leaving his subjects nervous a€" but he also earned a reputation for fairness.
"He was such an independent, rebellious kind of guy and yet you knew he was all mush on the inside," said Jeri Cartwright, former spokeswoman for the county and a longtime friend of Fenton. "I really loved him because he toughened me up, and I needed that."
Fenton died early Saturday, suffering from a staph infection and related ailments. At one point he dwindled to a frail 104 pounds from his fighting weight of around 165, said his widow, Pat Fenton. He had regained about half the difference before his death.
No services are planned a€" "Jack didn't stand much on ceremony," Pat said a€" though there may be a private gathering of friends, not yet scheduled.
Fenton wrote for the Army Hometown News Service in Kansas City, Mo., during his military service, worked for the Ottawa Herald in Ottawa, Kan., after his discharge, and later for the Oregon City Enterprise Courier before coming to The Tribune, where he worked from 1964 to 1995 a€" most of that time covering the county beat.
"He knew it inside and out. He knew it better than a lot of elected officials," said Bart Barker, a former Salt Lake County commissioner and currently administrative aide to County Councilman Richard Snelgrove.
"He was definitely a classic. Out of all the reporters who covered the county during my tenure [from 1981 to 1991] he was the most interesting character, and you kind of grew to love him a€" even though I got burned by him a few times," Barker said. "He was no light touch."
Former Tribune environmental reporter Jim Woolf remembered how Fenton liked to poke not just the officials he covered, but also his editors at the paper.
"I recall Jack giving [former Tribune editor] Will Fehr fits by turning in apparently straightforward stories about the County Commission that contained just a word or phrase carefully selected to piss off one of our pompous elected officials. Fehr would review them and decide everything was fine and the next day field calls from furious commissioners. Jack also responded with a mischievous smile and a claim that he had no idea what the commissioner was talking about," Woolf wrote in an email. "I will miss him."
Fenton had a lifelong love of modern jazz and good food a€" the spicier the better. And he made his espresso/cappuccino maker a fixture in the news room in the Salt Lake County Government Center.
"He could make a cappuccino that would burn the hair out of your nose," said Steve Fidel, a Deseret News reporter who covered the county for the rival paper for a year or two during Fenton's stint and became friends with him. They often ended up going to lunch together, and "we'd have some of the hottest foreign foods I ever tried."
Fidel also recalls how Fenton would finish his shift for The Tribune and then head over to his second job, as a volunteer at the senior center.
"It's time," Fenton would say, "to go help the old farts."
Later, after his retirement from The Tribune, he worked with AARP and local senior citizen organizations and was recognized for his service.
Fenton is survived by his wife, daughter Katherine LeClaire, son Mark, two grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.