Oct 6, 2014 3 min read

Louis F. Florian, whose career in journalism stretched over more than half a century, died Monday, October 6, 2014. He died in a Pittsburgh hospital, where he was flown from the scene of a car accident Sunday near his home in North Franklin Township. He was 77.

Florian began working at the Washington Observer as a part-time sports writer in 1953 and worked at the paper during the summer while attending St. Vincent College in Latrobe, from which he earned his bachelor’s degree in 1958. He began working full time as a reporter at the Observer in 1961. Twelve years later, he was named city editor of the Observer-Reporter, a position he held until he became editor of the editorial page. It was in that post, in which he served until his retirement in 2009, that he won numerous Keystone Press and Golden Quill awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania for his editorial writing. He was for many years a member, officer and president of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi.

Florian’s editorial voice – restrained, well-reasoned and convincing – is emulated these days by the paper’s editorial writers. His arguments could be passionate, particularly those regarding civil rights, racial equality and personal freedoms.

“What a loss,” said William B. Northrop Sr., former co-publisher of the Observer-Reporter. “Lou was a man of much depth: writer, thinker, musician, husband, father, man of principle. We collaborated on editorials, with many agreements and disagreements, but Lou always had strong insight and depth, and never compromised his principles. He also had a wry sense of humor and the cynicism of the old-time newspaperman that he was.”

Jon Stevens, now the O-R’s Greene County bureau chief, was a cub reporter when Florian was working as an editor on the night desk. “He cared about the business, and he was very patient with me, and instructive. I can’t recall him ever raising his voice,” Stevens said, regardless of the severity of errors. “He was a newspaperman, in the truest sense.”

Florian also had a passion for music. He served as organist at both Immaculate Conception and St. Hilary churches and played at numerous other churches in the Washington area.

Florian was a member of the Pennsylvania Society of Newspaper Editors, the Pittsburgh Press Club and Washington Elks Lodge 776. He also had served as a board member for the Washington County Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and the Pittsburgh Communications Foundation.

On July 30, 1977, he was married to Mary Jo Bolek, who survives. Also surviving are a son, Michael Walter, and a daughter, Katherine.

Editor’s note: More personal details and visitation/service information for Louis F. Florian may appear in a later edition once an obituary is submitted to the Observer-Reporter.