Arthur Spiegelman

No one I’ve met among the storied and colorful characters that have regularly graced the top of the Reuters news ‘sked’ in recent decades struck me as having as much sheer DELIGHT in the craft of journalism and in his colleagues than did Arthur Spiegelman.

As we all experienced, he invested himself in it with the heart and talent and wit and charm that made it really feel we were getting away with something really special to have the privilege of working in a world and an era which include him.

While not the only one in the profession to have done so, I learned a lot from Arthur. Not all of it was as successfully adapted, of course. For example, I can now admit having embraced by own forms of his infamous ‘filing system’ - John Taysom used to refer to my office as the prototype of the paperless office run amok. But I could not come close to the fluid genius of his writing.

Arthur’s gentle irreverence and infectious humor will live on among us. It has made me a better person to have known him. After all, as I once explained to Arthur, it is no small part due to knowing him that our son bears the name of “Arthur.” ■