> SOUTHERN INDIANA — Pulling into The Tribune parking lot each morning was pretty uneventful in the old days. Nothing good happens between 5:30 and 6 a.m. Nothing at all.

But there was one person who met me in the lot most mornings with a smile on her face, eager to get the day started. And on many occasions, she beat me to work.

She would sometimes wait for someone, usually me, to arrive before entering the building. But a lot of times, she went in to start her day. There was no holding her back.

I could always count on Nancy Hogan being here each morning. It didn’t matter if it was 90 degrees outside or 10 below, Nancy was always here. There were days when she may not have felt 100 percent, or may have taken a little longer climbing the steps, but she was here. And she never complained about her physical ailments.

She usually had her breakfast with her and a story or two to tell. Most of the time, we were always the first two people to arrive at 303 Scribner Drive. And no matter how crazy the morning was, or what fire had to be put out, I always made my way back to the composing room where Nancy worked to talk to her for a few minutes.

We would talk politics, what was going on in the city or New Albany High School sports. But mainly we talked about her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I don’t think she missed many of their games or activities through the years and she would always discuss their achievements from the night before with me.

In the later years, it was her great-grandchildren who kept her busy. She truly loved going to their Little League contests or basketball games. She was so proud and she looked forward to keeping up with their busy schedules.

Nancy died Monday at age 86. And for what it’s worth, she took a little bit of this newspaper with her. She never had a byline, but her fingerprints were all over the paper. In the last 25 years of her career here, she set type for the advertisements you see on many of the pages.  

In her last few years at the paper, Nancy didn’t work every day. She called it semi-retired with a smile, but she never hung it up until health issues forced her to a few years ago. She told me on many occasions she just wasn’t cut out to sit around, watch television and be permanently retired. She wanted to keep her mind active.

Nancy had a great work ethic. Today’s younger generation could learn a lot from her. In the past two decades, this industry, like most, has seen a technology boom. But no matter what new advances were thrown at her, she never let it get her down. She wasn’t afraid to learn new technology, and was the first to admit she was no computer whiz.

Nancy was great at her job. Maybe that is why she hung around here for 43 years. She could spot mistakes like no other and always took her time when building an ad. She never rushed or gave it a half-hearted effort.

I am proud to call Nancy my friend. In a way, we both looked out for one another. On many occasions, she would ask me if the new guy was going to cause me problems or if a change in the production of the newspaper was going to create more work for me. She would tell me that I was losing too much weight and needed to start eating, or she would say she liked a particular shirt or color I was wearing that day. Those are things I will never forget about Nancy.

Times change and people come and go in the newspaper business. There are only a few in my 27 years here that I will never forget. Nancy Hogan was one of those few.

— Chris Morris is an assistant editor at the News and Tribune. Reach him at chris.morris@newsandtribune.com