“Richard Des Ruisseaux, long time Louisville Times humor columnist, fine left- handed golfing partner, tennis player, sandlot baseball dude, proud grandpa, journalism professor, copy editor, gentle consumer of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, overall funny good guy and co-founder and a guiding force behind the National Society of Newspaper Columnists died on Sunday, Sept. 14. He was 85.
Des was living with and near family in Taylorsville, Ky. His son, Doug, explained Des was dealing with a number of ” obnoxious medical issues,” including two stented aneurysms.
He was in some pain Sunday morning, reluctant to go the hospital, and then suffered a “thunder heart attack” on the way. His body was cremated.
“There will be no service,” said his son. “There was no suffering, no lingering. It was just the way he wanted.”
Des was a columnist’s role model in the 1970s and 80s, finding humor in everyday situations, working hard at being funny, although the labor never showed in the final relaxed product.
In 1977 he joined Lawrence Maddry at the Norfolk Virgina Pilot newspaper at the first gathering of the NSNC when about 20 columnists showed up.
Des agreed to host the next meeting in Louisville, then served as NSNC president until 1989, keeping the group together, building membership in those pre-computer days by going page by page through the fat Editor and Publisher yearbooks finding columnists and writing invitation letters. Newspaper secretary Mary Pat Falk actually did most of the NSNC financial book work, a mission at odds with most word smiths.
Guest speakers at conferences over the years included Texas humorist Molly Ivins – who appeared at a Florida conference the night of the infamous OJ. Simpson low speed police chase and was the winner of the obligatory columnist pool picking how long it would last.
Another speaker was the legendary Dave Barry, who spoke at a Louisville gathering and was just pretty damn funny. Oh, yeah, we talked writing and handed out awards at those things, too.
Thanks to President Des, who got the group past its juvenile years, the NSNC now has more than 3,000 members who gather annually on line.
Highlights of other conventions included spelling bees – columnists should never be asked to spell correctly, too, and a memorable night in Arizona when a carload of investigative columnists thought it important to find an advertised “world’s largest ball of string” allegedly sitting in a residential front yard. We found it.
Des wrote a self-illustrated book, “Two Pounds of Feathers,” a less than lightweight collection of his columns which he dedicated to his wife, Susan, and children Margaret and Douglas, “in lieu of Christmas presents.”
Des was just pretty damn funny, too, but more with sharp needles than an ax
In the book’s copywrite page he explained “The words in the columns first appeared in the dictionary and were used without permission,”
and “monosodium glutamate was added as a preservative.”
He opened the book with an Owner’s Manual , asking all purchasers to take a few minutes to learn how to operate the book properly.
To wit:
If the type appears blurry, you are probably holding the book either too close or too far from your eyes. If, after moving the book back and forth, you are still unable to read it, see if you have someone else’s glasses on by mistake.
Color. The ink is black, the paper is white. Crayons ( sold separately) may be used for additional color.
Storage. Keep you book in a cool, dry place: say on a bookshelf.
Brightness: If the words appear dim, turn on a light.
Never a problem with Des.” – By Bob Hill
