OXFORD, Miss. – Noted journalist Rudy Paulk Abramson, 70,
an alumnus of the University of Mississippi and member of
UM’s journalism advisory board, died Wednesday at a
hospital in Fairfax, Va. He had sustained massive head
injuries in a fall Tuesday at him home in Reston, Va.
“The university – and especially the Department of
Journalism – have lost a true friend in the untimely death
of Rudy Abramson,” said Samir Husni, chair of journalism.
“It’s a sad day for the journalism department and for the
university family. Rudy was a member of our advisory board
and was here visiting only two months ago. He was energetic
about his projects and full of hope for the future of our
journalism program. We extend our condolences to his
family.”
A former longtime reporter for the Los Angeles Times,
Abramson wrote two books, “Spanning the Century: The Life
of W. Averell Harriman, 1891-1986” (1992) and “Hallowed
Ground: Preserving America’s Heritage” (1996). He co-edited
the “Encyclopedia of Appalachia” (2006), the first
comprehensive reference work on the region that covers 13
states from Mississippi to New York.
Abramson was born in Florence, Ala. He graduated from Ole
Miss in 1958 and was hired as a reporter for the Nashville
Tennessean, where he worked for several years before
joining the Times.
At the time of his death, he was working on a biography of
Harry Caudill, a Kentucky lawyer and environmentalist whose
1963 book “Night Comes to the Cumberlands” focused national
attention on the underdevelopment of Appalachia.
Abramson is survived by his wife, Joyce; daughters Kristin
and Karin; and three grandchildren.