Lisa Warren was one of a kind, too

Lisa Warren once used the word “heroic” to describe Joe Nuxhall when he was fighting his fourth bout with lymphoma.

Although she would likely have edited out the word “heroic” from this editorial, there are more than a few members of this news organization and this community who think the same adjective characterizes our former editor, who passed away last Friday, July 23, after a painful and protracted battle with cancer.

Many plaudits, memories and eulogies have been shared by her friends and co-workers — past and present — over the past several days. Community leaders have praised the exceptional contributions she made in improving the lives of others.

Suffice to say, Lisa was a powerful presence in the lives of her friends, her professional peers, the movers and shakers that she covered as a journalist, her readers (especially the disenfranchised and the needy), and — of course — her beloved family.

Lisa was already established as editor of the Hamilton JournalNews when she also took over the reins of the Middletown Journal in 2007. Unfortunately, her illness prevented her from becoming as involved in Middletown activities and concerns, as she had been since her arrival in Hamilton in 2001.

When her cancer was diagnosed a few years ago, Lisa faced it with courage and with a determination not to be slowed down. When she wrote her “unabashed” 2007 “love letter from one cancer survivor to another,” she described the late Joe Nuxhall this way:

“Just watching him go about his day ... shows all of us what the human spirit is able to overcome, and that a strong will can be formidable. And he makes it look so effortless. That is the truly heroic part. Because cancer is terrible. It is physically and mentally draining. No one would fault Joe for just staying at home and resting. Instead, he chooses to fight back, with grace and good humor and for the public benefit.” She unknowingly was describing her own future as well.

Bravery and pluck

Whether Lisa was emulating the example left by the Cincinnati Reds legend, the words she wrote in 2007 easily describe the bravery and pluck that she would display the next three years while she battled her own cancer. While she could have stepped away from her responsibilities with this newspaper, its loyal readership and the staff she had assembled, she chose to continue the work she loved for as long as she could: Keeping readers informed and finding new ways to serve them; helping younger journalists become better at their craft; telling the uplifting stories of other people facing their own life struggles and those of people who positively affect the lives of others; and finding ways to help the less fortunate in our community.

The awards and recognition were numerous, but honors were not her reward or motivating force. She believed newspapers could be “an instrument of philanthropy,” staff writer Richard O Jones wrote following her death. “Lisa gave a voice to the voiceless and was in tune with people who suffer,” said Shared Harvest director Tina Osso. “She inspired journalists to pursue stories that would enrich communities and change lives,” former staff writer Lisa Bernard-Kuhn recalled.

Those stories would include compelling and attitude-changing projects on the plight of the illegal immigrant population in Butler County, underage drinking problems at Miami University, hunger in the community, helping children succeed and finally — motivated by her own struggles — a series of stories on people’s experiences fighting cancer. Lisa’s own occasional columns on her illness comforted many readers and inspired others to join the fight for a cure. Helping, encouraging and educating others became her cause. “Never give up, never give up, never give up,” she wrote last October. “... Hold onto your faith, your friends, your will to live. Never give up.”

In her final column to readers in April, in response to the outpouring of support from the community, Lisa wrote, “I am so very touched, humbled and honored. ... It is much easier to fight when you know you have support.”

‘Opened her heart’

“She opened her heart and shared her battle with cancer with our readers so that somebody could be helped by her journey,” Publisher Edwina Blackwell Clark told our staff last week. “She wanted to stand for courage in the face of life’s obstacles and she accomplished that.”

But Lisa should also be remembered as a serious journalist — for some 30 years — not afraid to confront difficult issues nor to tackle troubling stories, and one who deeply cared about keeping her community informed and producing the best possible news product. She understood that mistakes and corrections were an inevitable part of the business, but she suffered every misspelled name or inaccuracy, and assured readers in her columns that we would redouble our efforts to do a better job.

On this melancholy day, the respect, loyalty and affection we all feel toward our colleague and friend will inspire us to strive — to meet her high expectations and to continue the excellent work that she did here. To her family and closest friends, we offer our deepest condolences and enduring gratitude for sharing her with us.

In a November 2007 column after the death of Joe Nuxhall, Lisa wrote this: “(He) was one of a kind. But the fact that we recognize that means we will have no problem carrying on the things he believed in: Family. Community. Helping those who need a hand. Educating our children. Being kind, being neighborly.”

Like Joe, Lisa Warren was one of a kind — and we, too, recognize our duty to carry on those same things that she believed in. Rest peacefully, friend.