Joseph R. 'Joe' Zelnik, 75, Herald Editor Emeritus, March 3, 2008

Joseph R. “Joe” Zelnik, Herald editor for 25 years, died March 3, 2008 at his home here surrounded by family.

He was responsible for guiding the weekly newspaper from a 20-page print edition in December 1982 into the 60-plus page weekly with Internet presence that it grew to be by the time of his retirement, when he assumed the title "Editor Emeritus."

A seasoned journalist who could write humorous columns and detail-oriented budget stories, Zelnik had been employed by the Delaware County Times from 1966 to 1976, then by the Philadelphia Daily News as an editorial writer for about a year and a half.

From the Daily News, he went the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin in the Delaware County Bureau in Media, Pa., where he spent five years. The newspaper ceased publication and Zelnik went to work for Buffalo (N.Y.) Courier-Express as an editorial writer, which went out of business six months later.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from University of Buffalo in 1954 and a Masters Degree in 1959. His first journalism job was with one of his hometown’s two weekly newspapers in Gowanda, N.Y.

Zelnik was an editor who never lost the zeal for writing. He continued to regularly report on freeholder meetings, county Open Space Board and the county Municipal Utilities Authority. Through his years working those beats, he nurtured invaluable sources that provided him with the basis for stories that won readers’ attention.

The opening of the Cape May County Campus of Atlantic Cape Community College was one of his proudest moments because he had worked tirelessly for decades to reveal the need for such a college campus here.

Arrangements have yet to be finalized.

See Wednesday’s Herald print edition for details.

If you have any memories of Joe please post a comment here.