By STAFF REPORTS
BLUEFIED - Bluefield Daily Telegraph Executive Editor Tom Colley died early Saturday morning at a Roanoke, Va. hospital following a brief illness.
Colley became ill at his home Friday morning. He was initially hospitalized in critical condition in the Cardiac Care Unit of Bluefield Regional Medical Center following an apparent heart attack. He was joined at BRMC by family members and staff members of the Daily Telegraph. Colley was later airlifted to Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
Colley died early Saturday morning in Roanoke. He was surrounded by his family at the time of his passing.
Colley, a resident of Bluefield and a native of Richlands, Va., returned to the Daily Telegraph as executive editor in 1985 after working in Charleston, S.C., for several years as news editor. Prior to going to Charleston, he was managing editor of the Daily Telegraph from 1974 to 1979. Before his first stint with the Daily Telegraph, he worked for newspapers in Auburn, Ind., and Tazewell County.
During his tenure with the Daily Telegraph, Colley garnered a number of community service and journalism awards. Just last year, he was named by Gov. Joe Manchin as a Distinguished West Virginian — the highest award a resident of West Virginia can receive.
Colley, a member of the Bluefield Rotary Club, was a recent recipient of the Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Colley was also a recipient in 2005 of the prestigious Adam R. Kelly Premier Journalist Award by the West Virginia Press Association. Colley was recognized in 2003 by Bluefield’s Riley-Vest Post No. 9 of the American Legion as a recipient of the Distinguished Citizenship Award for his outstanding community service.
Colley also was the long-time chairman of the Daily Telegraph’s “Little Jimmie” annual Community Christmas Tree campaign. The campaign provides gifts for hundreds of children each year who otherwise would go without during the holiday season.
Colley was also a longtime advocate for literacy programs in the region, and had directed a committee that promotes literacy in Four Seasons Country and throughout the state of West Virginia. He also was active for several years with the Windy Mountain Learning Center’s board of directors, having previously served as chairman of the board where he was responsible for obtaining an emergency appropriation from the governor’s office to help keep the school open.
Colley also had been actively involved with the Reading Bee program for school children in Tazewell and Mercer counties. The annual event helps to encourage a love of reading among school children across the region.
Colley, a 1959 graduate of Garden High School in Oakwood, attended San Antonio Junior College and the University of Maryland as an English major.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete Saturday.
– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com
