Dick Cooney 'lived and breathed newspapers'

Dick Cooney, 90, who started as an apprentice in a pressroom and retired as Star Tribune vice president of operations and a nationally known expert in newspaper production, died of kidney disease July 13 at his home in Eden Prairie.

Cooney was coaxed out of retirement in 1982 to be a consultant to the newspaper on construction of its state-of-the-art Heritage Center printing and production plant, which opened in 1987. Former Star Tribune executive Bruce Gensmer, who hired Cooney for the project, said he knew more about presses than anybody on the face of the Earth.

"He was just an absolutely lovely gentleman who showed grace and dignity as a manager," Gensmer said. "He lived and breathed newspapers."

Cooney lived most of his life in south Minneapolis, where he graduated from Roosevelt High School. At 15, he worked part time as a helper in the pressroom at the Star-Journal, a predecessor to the Star Tribune. He joined the U.S. Naval Air Corps in 1942, serving as a naval aviator for four years.

He then rejoined the Star-Journal and worked his way up the pressroom ladder, becoming pressroom superintendent in 1955. His title later changed to vice president of operations.

"He enjoyed life and knew how fortunate he was," said his daughter Jessie Cooney, of Eden Prairie. "He was so far from arrogant. If he could brag about something, he wouldn't do it."

Morrie Paulson, the technical service manager for Boise Cascade, a paper supplier to the Star Tribune, was a business partner before he became longtime friends with Cooney. When Paulson was starting the business, Cooney went out of his way to introduce him to people.

Because he came up through the ranks and never forgot a name, Cooney had the loyalty of his colleagues, Gensmer said.

Cooney was a pioneer in direct lithography, a process where the image is printed directly from the plate on paper. He appeared on the cover of Editor and Publisher magazine and was a founder of several production associations, including what is now the International Newspaper Group.

"In the 1970s and early '80s, there wasn't a better-known production executive in the country," said Tom Hardie, former vice president of production at the Star Tribune.

Cooney's daughter said he loved to laugh and tell stories. He was humming along to Irish songs less than an hour before his death, she said. He was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Patricia.

Besides his daughter Jessie, Cooney is survived by another daughter, Carolyn Lindenau, of Roseville and three sons, Matthew, of Minnetonka Beach, Michael, of Tonka Bay, and Joseph, of Minnetonka.