Barry Schrader Death | Passed Away | Obituary
Barry Schrader Death – Dead: A great loss was made known to InsideEko. As friends and families of the deceased are mourning the passing of their loved and cherished Barry Schrader.
Barry Schrader was the former DeKalb County newspaper editor and columnist, he worked for the Northern Star before he became the editor of a group of weekly papers and then owned and started his own newspapers in DeKalb County. He worked in California before serving as editor of the Daily Chronicle. He passed away on June 30 at the age of 79 after battling with pancreatic cancer.
Having heard about this great loss, the family of this individual is passing through pains, mourning the unexpected passing of their beloved.
This departure was confirmed through social media posts made by Twitter users who pour out tributes, and condolences to the family of the deceased.
DeKalb’s mayor finds it notable that a former DeKalb County newspaper editor and columnist has passed away on the same day that the largest social media company in the world announced it’s coming to the city.
Barry Schrader passed away Tuesday morning. He had been battling pancreatic cancer.
Schrader was a Genoa native who graduated from NIU and worked for the Northern Star before he became the editor of a group of weekly papers and then owned and started his own newspapers in DeKalb County. He worked in California before serving as editor of the Daily Chronicle, and then returned to California before retiring here and writing a column on life in DeKalb County.
DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith worked with Schrader at the Northern Star and then they were competing editors in the early 70s with Schrader at the Chronicle and Smith at the DeKalb County Journal.
“I talked to Barry a week ago … and it was obvious that he was not doing well, and the last thing I said to Barry, I said, ‘I love you, Barry,’ and he said, ‘I loved you too, guy,’ and those were the last words that we spoke to one another,’” says Smith. “We’re going to miss this guy. He was a giant in this community, but we’re so much better served by having Barry Schrader in our lives.”
Smith notes that he’s losing one of his best friends on the same day that Facebook announced it was building a data center in DeKalb.
“No one would have been more excited than Barry to know that it was Facebook, this social media giant, that was building in DeKalb,” says Smith. “Here was a guy whose entire life was media, whose entire life was news, and he would of just been so excited about this.
Barry Schrader passed away today.
I first met Barry when I was a reporter at the Northern Star at NIU. Barry was an eccentric, unique character that frequented the office, even stopping by with hot news tips. He was a legend to us kids, and an important presence in a newsroom full of tomorrow’s journalists.
As I wrote an in-depth story on DeKalb’s Annie Glidden mural, my Star coworkers lovingly teased that I would be DeKalb County’s next Barry Schrader. I hoped I could have half of his integrity, heart, and nose for news.
I briefly worked for the Daily Chronicle, and Barry was a helpful source. When I quit, he immediately took me under his wing. Although I was no longer in the daily news grind, he quickly asked me to be a columnist for his online news source, DeKalb County Life. I agreed without hesitation, as I saw the opportunity to build a friendship with someone who I sincerely admired. He became my mentor, and sent encouraging emails often.
I saw him in person at almost every one of my local history presentations. He would deeply listen to my presentation, then fire off questions at me during my Q&A. Always a journalist.
Barry was the one who encouraged me to join the DeKalb County Historical Genealogical Society, because, as he put it, they could use some “young, fresh ideas.” Now I’m a board member of that fantastic group, and I owe it to Barry.
Just a few months ago, Barry called with a short, to-the-point message. He had pancreatic cancer. I needed to come over soon because he had some things to give me. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was there within a couple hours.
When I arrived, Barry took me to his office, and I couldn’t help but smile seeing his giant desk with thousands of loose sheets of paper, pens and notebooks. Always a journalist.
He started pulling books off of his shelves. “You’ll need this one, and this one,” he said, as he pulled DeKalb County history books from the shelf. “You’ll love this one,” he said as he handed me a Mike Royko book. He walked me through his house and even took framed photos and documents down off his walls. He handed them to me without a second thought. “This will be so helpful for your future presentations,” he said, as he yanked a giant DeKalb County map off the wall in a staircase.
He sent me home with four boxes of books. I drove home in tears, feeling miserable over the thought of losing Barry, as well as swelling pride, because he was sharing this huge part of his life with me. I was honored, and it was then that I swore that I’d always make him proud.
What a loss. My heart is broken, but Barry’s enthusiasm for life, and his unwavering pursuit of the story, will be my inspiration for years to come.
I am so sad reading about Barry Schrader passing away today from pancreatic cancer. His Mother Margaret Schrader was my 1st grade teacher. Barry always had an interest with all things happening in Somonauk & stayed friends with many here. My sympathy to his wife Kay & their sons.
We are still working on getting more details about the death, as family statement on the death is yet to be released.
