A farewell to two legendary past presidents. (Obituaries).

Brian Dickinson and Joe Stroud, who were editorial voices of courage in their respective states -- Rhode Island and Michigan -- and nurturing leaders of NCEW, both died within days of each other in early May.

Dickinson of the Providence Journal and Stroud of the Detroit Free Press served back-to-back presidencies. Dickinson was president in 1987 when the convention was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Stroud in 1988 when the convention was held in Fort Worth, Texas. In their service to NCEW, both went above and beyond the call of duty and earned the reward of being named life members. Their untimely deaths represent a tremendous loss.

Dickinson, 64, died on May 4 at his home in Warwick after a valiant and resolute battle against Lou Gehrig's Disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Dickinson served on the Journal's editorial page staff since 1972, including a decade as editorial page editor.

His disease was diagnosed in 1992, and as it progressively weakened muscles, Dickinson found new ways to keep working and writing his column. His strength came in no small part from the support of his family -- his wife, Barbara, and sons, Andrew, Jonathan, and Matthew. In his final years, Dickinson wrote his column with the aid of a computer, using his eye movements to pick letters that were reconfigured into words and thoughts. The laborious process could take up to 10 hours.

Dickinson won many awards for his work, including dozens after the disease severely limited his movements. As NCEW's Paul Greenberg wrote in tribute to Brian, just after his death: "For the past decade, together with Barbara, Brian conducted a kind of graduate seminar in courage and dry good humor."

Stroud, 65, died suddenly on May 9 after collapsing at Albion College, where he taught journalism and directed the Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public Policy and Service.

Stroud had taken the job after retiring from the Detroit Free Press in 1998. For those who knew his love for journalism and editorial writing, that position represented classic Stroud -- he thoroughly enjoyed mentoring younger journalists.

For 25 years, Stroud served as editor of the editorial pages, shaping and sustaining the influential voice of the Free Press. He was a strong voice for civil rights, equal justice, environmental protection, and the rebirth of Detroit. After his retirement, he continued to write a column for three years.

Stroud was an editor "who would work constantly to understand his community and to deal forcefully and unflinchingly with all those things that make a city a good place to live," wrote former Free Press colleague and NCEW past president Reese Cleghorn.

Stroud was editorial page editor of the Winston Salem Journal and Sentinel and an editorial writer at the Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock. He joined NCEW in 1960.

Memorial contributions:

* Joe Stroud Visiting Scholar Fund do The President's Office, Albion College, 611 Porter St., Albion MI 49224.

* Brian Dickinson Courage Fund c/o ALS Association of Rhode Island, 2845 Post Road, Suite 110, Warwick RI 02886.

* NCEW Foundation, 6223 Executive Blvd., Rockvile MD 20852.