Arthur Spiegelman

Arthur arrived in New York the same year I joined Reuters. He was kind and considered to a rookie who, even worse than being one, worked in Econ, regarded by many in General news as poxy part of the company populated by numbers people who wrote in code, couldn’t be expected to actually craft a story and were, at best (in a word yet to be coined), nerdy. Like so many, I treasured his presence, his guidance and most of all that giggle. I often took visiting pals from the AP along to see his office - no one had ever seen anything like it.

Later, after I had been posted to Canada, I filed a feature on the scene at a big fire in Montreal that killed a lot of people. Arthur called me and said it was one of the best pieces of writing he had seen. I have treasured that moment forever, although I suspect he characteristically said it over and over, a reflection of his enormous heart. He is missed, dearly. ■