Noted Ohio reporter John T. Kady dies at 79

Ohio news reporter John T. Kady, who spent 34 years with United Press International, died Sunday, Aug. 4 in Columbus of a heart attack.

He was 79.

According to his obituary at http://www.schoedinger.com, Mr. Kady's career with UPI spanned 35 years, including assignments in Charleston, W.Va., Baltimore, Md., Louisville, Ky., and Columbus.

Mr. Kady was also the author of two books, “A Sentry’s Saga,” and “A Reporter’s Notebook: Kennedy to Kent State,” and wrote articles for “BloodHorse Magazine” until the time of his death.

He was born Sept. 2, 1933, in Wheeling, W.Va. He served with the U.S. Air Force from 1951-55, on Okinawa as a member of the Air Police Canine Corps and as an AP in England. He graduated from West Virginia University in 1959 with a degree in journalism and immediately embarked on his career with UPI.

During his reporting career, Mr. Kady was happiest when talking, watching, reading, and especially writing about Ohio State Buckeyes football, a team he covered for UPI for several years from the press box at Ohio Stadium.

A memorial Mass will be held August 29, followed by a reception at St. Agnes Catholic Church 2364 W. Mound St., in Columbus.

Visit www.schoedinger.com to sign Mr. Kady’s online guest book or to leave a special memory or photo.

According to http://ohiowritersguild.org, Mr. Kadysaid of his 34 years with United Press International, “I never worked a day in my life.”

He used his $21 a month from the GI Bill to help get through West Virginia University.

"Flunking an early accounting course sent him in search of a new major. He chose journalism. Upon graduation in May 1959, he went to work for United Press International, the wire service that his college newspaper had subscribed to. He started as a general assignment reporter in Charleston, W.Va.

One of the first assignments he was given was to follow a  little-known Massachusetts senator who was in the coal fields of West Virginia in his quest for the Democratic nomination for the presidency – John F. Kennedy. Jumping into a press car, the young Kady found himself sandwiched between national reporters Bob Considine and David Brinkley."