Meadow was a 'Writers Writer'

Photo source: Pulling for James B. Meadow

Journalist James B. Meadow died this weekend.

A writer for more than 25 years at Denver's recently shuttered Rocky Mountain News, Meadow was badly injured Friday in a bicycle accident, possibly after suffering a heart attack.

Meadow's friend Brad Bawmann sent an e-mail to friends and colleagues Sunday evening.

Here's a portion:

Thank you for your prayers, warm thoughts and love for OUR friend James B. Meadow.

Sadly, he has left us for a better place.

It is likely that James suffered a massive heart attack during his Friday afternoon bicycle ride in Chatfield Reservoir and was unconscious or nearly that before he hit the ground.

A hard-body cyclist and exercise beast, James had undergone heart valve replacement a few years back. In fact, earlier in the week, his cardiologist had told James not to ride in this year's upcoming "Triple Bypass," some crazy spin up and down Colorado's mountains that isn't easily accomplished in a Range Rover much less an 18-speed.

Perhaps this contributed to his fall and subsequent death. I don't know.

What I do know is how privileged I am to have known him. A great writer, a big thinker and a kind soul -- James always made me laugh and always made me get out the damn dictionary to look up some word he'd used in story or
conversation.

As one friend put it, James was a "writer's writer." He never settled for less, and during the course of this weekend I told many folks James probably forgot more about the English language than I will ever know. He was meticulous to a fault and insightful to cause pain and tears. As you may have seen from his colleagues' comments on Facebook and in the newspapers James gave a lot of people a lot of gruff for wanting more ...

More information is available at the Facebook group Pulling for James B. Meadow.

* Cross posted at Know Newspapers.

— TJ Sullivan in LA