Jack D. Loftis

A native of Hillsboro, Texas, Loftis spent 37 years at the Houston Chronicle, retiring in 2002 while serving as editor and associate publisher of the newspaper.

Born on the 21st of November 1934, the son of Henry and Allyne Loftis, he graduated from Hillsboro High School and Baylor University, where in 1988 he was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus.

Loftis began his newspaper career as a sportswriter at the Hillsboro Evening Mirror and later became its editor. He joined the Chronicle as a news copy editor in 1965 and became editor of the newspaper’s Sunday Texas Magazine in 1970. After a series of promotions, Loftis was named assistant managing editor in 1974 and assistant editor in 1979.

Following the purchase of the Chronicle by The Hearst Corporation in 1987, Loftis was named vice-president and editor and was promoted to associate publisher and editor in 1998.

During his 15 years as editor, the Chronicle won hundreds of local, state and national journalism awards, opened a number of domestic and foreign news bureaus and twice was a finalist in Pulitzer Prize competition.

Loftis served as president of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas and received the organization’s James Madison Award in 1999. He also served as president of both the Newspaper Features Council and the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, receiving the NFC Jester Award in 1992 and being selected in 1997 as one of the first 10 inductees into the AASFE Features Hall of Fame.

He served as a director of the Texas Daily Newspaper Association and in 1995 was the recipient of the Headliners Foundation of Texas’ Lifetime Achievement Award. He twice served as a Pulitzer Prize juror.

A member of Baylor University’s 1993-95 Sesquicentennial Council of 150, Loftis received the school’s Media Award in 1997. He served eight consecutive terms as a director of the Baylor Alumni Association and was a long-standing member of the advisory board for the Baylor Line, the association’s prize-winning magazine.

Loftis won a letter in baseball as a freshman at Baylor and later served as a director of the Baylor Letter Winners Association. In 2001 Baylor honored him by naming the press box at newly constructed Baylor Ballpark in his honor.

He served terms on the boards of Houston READ Commission, Clean Houston, The Houston Club, Chronicle Goodfellows, Crime Stoppers of Houston, Press Club of Houston and was a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Cartoonists Society of America.

A hometown friend of the late Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock, Loftis and his wife, the former Beverly Walker of Baytown, served as honorary chairs of the Texas Inaugural Committee that oversaw the 1995 ceremonies involving Bullock’s second term as lieutenant governor and George W. Bush’s first term as governor.

Loftis was also a Bullock appointee to the Texas Election Advisory Commission.

A member of the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce Hall of Fame, Loftis’ devotion to his birthplace never waned as he continued to participate in Hillsboro and Hill County civic projects, including the rebuilding of the historic Hill County Courthouse that was almost destroyed by fire in 1993. In 2003 the Hill County Historical Association opened a display in its Cell Block Museum to recognize and saluted Loftis’ journalism career.

Loftis and wife Beverly have been actively involved in activities connected with the Lone Star Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Friends of West University Parks, Citizens for Animal Protection and Crime Stoppers of Houston where they were presented The Leon Goldstein Crime Stoppers Award for making a significant contribution to fighting crime.

On the 11th of April 2005, they served as honorary chairs for Operation Choo Choo II, the project celebrating the re-location of Steam Engine 982 from Hermann Park to its new home near Union Station/Minute Maid Park.

Since retirement, the Loftises have divided their time between family homes in West University Place and at Lake Conroe, along with their dogs Juliet and Tammy Faye.

Survivors include his wife Beverly; goddaughter Cheryl Turner of Dallas; sister-in-law and brother-in-law Steffani and Larry Robinson of Baytown; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Gary Walker and Jolene Walker of Gainesville, Texas; nieces Kyle Kaufman of Baytown and Jordan Huegele of Sugar Land; nephew Justin Kaufman of Baytown and several cousins, including Earline Stiles and Allyne Townsend of Amarillo.

A memorial service will be held at two o’clock in the afternoon on Wednesday, the 7th of January 2015, in the Jasek Chapel of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. Immediately following all are invited to greet the family during a reception to be held in the adjacent grand foyer.

In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests that memorial contributions be considered for Citizens for Animal Protection, 11925 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77079; Cocker Spaniel Rescue of East Texas, www.cockerkids.org, PO Box 28, Sugar Land, TX 77487-0028; or The Baseball Heart of the Order at Baylor University, www.Baylor.edu/BearFoundation, University Development, One Bear Place #97050, Waco, TX 76798-7050.