OXFORD, Miss – Mississippi journalist and professional mentor S. Gale
Denley of Bruce died early Friday at Baptist Memorial Hospital-North
Mississippi after a long illness. He was 72.
Funeral services are set for at 3 p.m. Sunday (Aug. 31) at Bruce United
Methodist Church, with Parker Memorial Funeral Home handling the
arrangements. Interment will follow in Bruce Cemetery. Visitation is
scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Saturday and 2-3 p.m. Sunday at Bruce United
Methodist Church.
Born Feb. 23, 1936, Denley was widely known for his years as editor of
the Calhoun County Journal in Bruce, as a syndicated columnist and as a
journalism professor at the University of Mississippi.
“Gale Denley was the most influential Mississippi journalism educator of his generation and a truly beloved newspaper man of the old school,” said Sid Salter, longtime friend and business partner who is editor of the Perspective section of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson. “He was a gentle man who faced a lot of adversity in his life with courage and hope. Our friendship has been one of the great joys of my life.”
In April 2003, Ole Miss named its Student Media Center for him. Friends, colleagues and admirers gathered in the university’s legendary Grove to tell some of their favorite Denley stories, many reminiscing about the years he spent on campus nurturing students who dreamed of newspaper, radio, magazine and television careers.
Denley’s former student Charles Overby, CEO of the Freedom Forum, said, “Gale has left an incredible journalistic legacy. He influenced thousands of lives through practical, hands-on teaching and as a publisher, editor and columnist. He helped me and many others understand that journalism is more than a job; it is a way of life. He will be missed but – importantly – he will be remembered.”
Denley’s career ran from local public service to being named to the Mississippi Press Association’s Hall of Fame. In 1988, a serious auto accident nearly claimed his life, and the physical effects of his injuries began a long series of medical problems that would plague him until his death.
However, he seemed to accept all of life, from his health problems to the Ole Miss honor, with his usual good humor, always with a wisp of sarcasm. He held the conviction that his lengthy SMC tenure had a positive impact. Analyzing the difficulties of weaving a program to include radio, television and print media students, he said, “We worked together. It could have been a disaster, but it worked because we made it work.”
Traci Mitchell, SMC director, said, “Gale Denley was an absolute anchor for student freedom of the press and his legacy will forever live on through the student work produced through the S. Gale Denley Student Media Center at Ole Miss.”
Denley served as president of the Mississippi Press Association after being MPA’s vice president for weeklies. Describing his own civic involvement, he has been quoted as saying that he “had served on at least 1,000 committees of almost every description.”
He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and advertising, as well as master’s in journalism, from UM, where he taught journalism from 1963 to 1996. He also taught journalism at the University of Southern Mississippi 1958-59. At UM, he directed more than a dozen dissertations and theses.
“To me, Gale Denley represented the best of what Mississippi journalism could offer, both in a practical way and academic way,” said Samir Husni, chair of the UM Department of Journalism. “He practiced what he taught and he took the journalism education at Ole Miss to a more powerful, practical aspect through his work at the Student Media Center. In fact, he was the student media at Ole Miss.”
Before college, Denley worked with his grandfather, father and uncle on the Coffeeville Courier newspaper.
In 1953, he and his father established the Journal in Bruce, which his family continues to publish. Alone or with various partners through the decades, he owned several other newspapers, in addition to writing an internationally syndicated column, “The Bottom Line.” He published more than 20 articles in state, regional and national journals, as well as two monographs and at least a dozen book reviews.
He also directed the Mississippi Scholastic Press Association for high school student journalists and their advisers.
Among his numerous honors are the Golden Em, UM’s highest honor to a journalism faculty member; Mississippi University for Women’s Silver Inky; and Member of the Year from the Bruce Chamber of Commerce. Mississippi Gov. Cliff Finch appointed Denley as one of the original members of the state Ethics Commission, and Gov. William Winter reappointed him. He also had been an unofficial adviser to office-holders and would-be politicians for decades.
He was especially proud of earning an “honorary award” for promotion of the sweet potato industry in Mississippi.
A product of the Coffeeville schools, he attended Wood Junior College and then Mississippi State University before completing his degree at UM.
When his health permitted, he was active in a variety of professional organizations, including MPA, Society of Professional Journalists, Mississippi Economic Council, Association of Education in Journalism and the National Newspaper Association. He also was a member of the Rotary Club and a charter member of David Murphree Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution.
McComb Enterprise-Journal publisher emeritus Charles Dunagin, an Ole Miss classmate of Denley’s and a professional contemporary, called Denley “a man of unquestioned integrity.”
“Gale demonstrated an ability throughout his adult life to both practice and teach good journalism,” Dunagin said. “Moreover, he thoroughly understood and appreciated Mississippi politics, history and the varied cultures that make up our rather complex society.”
Denley was a member of the Bruce United Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Jo Ann Scott Denley of Bruce; daughters Celia Hillhouse and husband Lanny of Bruce, Lisa McNeece and husband Joel of Bruce, and Deanna Adams of Tupelo; his mother, Maggie Ellen Denley of Bruce; grandchildren Colby Hillhouse and wife Amanda of Bruce, Jo Ellen Bailey of Saltillo, Abby Rea and husband Sam of Bruce, Marshall Bailey and wife Whitney of Bruce, and Zachary, Samantha and Eli Adams, all of Tupelo.
The family asks that memorial donations be made to the S. Gale Denley Student Media Center Scholarship, University of Mississippi Foundation, P.O. Box 249, University, MS 38677; the Bruce Museum, P.O. Box 1013, Bruce, MS 38915; or Sanctuary Hospice House, P.O. Box 2177, Tupelo, MS 38803.