Jarnagin, William Claude 1879-1971

JARNAGIN, AIKIN, GILCHRIST, REID, SCOGREN

Posted By: Geo Clinton (email)
Date: 5/4/2016 at 19:32:57

Storm Lake Pilot Tribune - July 28, 1971 - The publisher died quietly Saturday night at Buena Vista County Memorial Hospital. He was only 3 weeks away from the exceptional age of 92. The funeral services were at Lakeside Presbyterian Church. Interment was in the Storm Lake cemetery.

Wm C. "Bill" Jarnagin, publisher emeritus of The Storm Lake Register and the Pilot-Tribune, was born in Colfax, Iowa Aug. 14, 1879 to Joseph W Jarnagin, then publisher of the Colfax Clipper and Sarah Catherine Aikin.

Bill graduated from Montezuma high school in 1898, where his father published the Republican and from the State Normal School (now UNI) in Cedar Falls in 1899. Buena Vista college awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in Journalism.

W.C. married Jean Gilchrist at Logan on May 3, 1903. They celebrated their 68th wedding anniversary last May.

Survivors include his widow; son Philip G of Storm Lake; daughter Jane Reid of St Paul, MN; two living grandchildren; 5 great grandchildren; a brother Ray, former publisher of the Peterson Patriot.

Bill Jarnagin's professional career began as Montezuma assistant postmaster in 1899 and 1900 followed by reporting for the Des Moines Daily Capitol, Sioux City Journal, and Cedar Falls Daily Record. He later became managing editor before moving to Storm Lake in 1923 after buying the Pilot Tribune from Charles H Mitchell. He became publisher of the Pilot Tribune and later also the Storm Lake Register in 1930 when the papers joined.

W.C. had been a partner with his son, Phil for 27 years and also Phil's son-in-law, Bernard Scogren for 3 years before the partnership sold its two papers to John R Anderson and Leo Mores on July 1, 1970.