Mark A. Beltaire ’37

When Mark died Dec. 1, 2005, at his home in La Jolla, Calif., he was called one of the "best-loved chroniclers" of the Detroit Free Press.

His career could have been predicted from an early age: He served on the publications board at Cranbrook School, majored in English at Princeton, had a column in the Princetonian, and was vice president of the Press Club. While at Princeton, as an Associated Press stringer, he reported on the Hindenburg disaster in Lakewood, N.J. He often talked about his thwarted attempt to interview Albert Einstein.

Mark was hired as a sportswriter at the Detroit News and covered everything from the Red Wings to golf, sandlot baseball, and football. Mark began writing his "Town Crier" column at the Detroit Free Press in 1945, covering stories about both ordinary people and celebrities. During the column's 35 years, he won many accolades, and in 1967, shared a Pulitzer for team coverage of the Detroit riots. At our 50th reunion, Mark was proud of his scoop of Anwar Sadat's assassination, while he was in Egypt in 1981.

Mark's wife, Beverly Ann, predeceased him. He is survived by his sons, Mark IV and Jeffrey; daughters Barbara and Suzanne; and two grandchildren. The class offers them sincere sympathy on the death of this very interesting man.

The Class of 1937