Friends and colleagues remember Daquilante
Longtime Oregon journalist Paul Daquilante, who worked for the News-Register for more than 45 years, died Monday, Jan. 13, at the age of 75.
Daquilante is remembered by those who knew him as a consummate professional, dedicated to community journalism, as well as a thoughtful, gentle person who made anyone he interacted with feel like a friend.
Daquilante grew up in Portland, and graduated Class of 1969 from Cleveland High School, where he worked on the school newspaper, the Tomahawk, and was a manager of several sports teams.
He attended Portland Community College and the University of Oregon, working part-time in The Oregonian and Eugene Register-Guard sports departments while going to college. After graduating from the U of O School of Journalism, he worked three years as a sportswriter for the Albany Democrat-Herald.
When the News-Register was searching for a new sports editor, Daquilante was recommended by the then-Democrat-Herald publisher, the late Glenn Cushman, according to N-R Publisher Jeb Bladine.
“Glenn said, ‘The thing about Paul is he’s going to work an immense number of hours, and produce a tremendous amount of copy,’” Bladine said. “And we hired him. And that’s what he did: he worked an immense amount of hours, and produced a tremendous amount of great sports copy.”
Daquilante served as the N-R Sports Editor from 1978 until 1996, when he transitioned to a cityside beat that included law enforcement agencies on the city, county and state levels, the public schools in Amity, Sheridan, Willamina and Yamhill-Carlton, and the cities of Amity, Sheridan and Willamina.
“He was always an anchor for me at the News-Register,” said N-R reporter Starla Pointer, who sat next to or across from Daquilante in the office from the time she started in 1982 until he retired in 2024. “One of my biggest memories is being down there in the evening and he’d be taking calls from coaches, and taking notes on an old Underwood typewriter. He typed so hard that I think he was on his third typewriting stand before we switched to computers.”
Daquilante was known to be the first in the office each day, making pots of coffee for coworkers, even though he never drank coffee, and placing the day’s newspaper on each reporter’s desk on production days.
“He’d stay as late as he needed to, but he was more known for getting there really early,” Pointer said. “Six in the morning would have been late for him.”
It was the same throughout his entire career.
“Paul was always first in the office, quietly pounding away at the keyboard when I walked in,” said N-R reporter Scott Unger, who joined the staff in August 2022. “I really enjoyed the time spent cracking sports jokes with Paul in the early hours. He welcomed me instantly when I was hired and was always kind, often asking about my family.”
Unger described Daquilante as “part of the last generation of real newspaper people. … Straightforward, fair, unbiased and focused on informing the community. Paul was an exemplary colleague and reporter,” he said. “It was an honor to work with him.”
N-R photographer and former sports editor Rusty Rae said he learned a lot from his colleague, about the profession and life.
“We had many great conversations about sports and life in general,” Rae said. “I called him PD often — that was in honor of Paul Durham — the former Linfield FB coach and athletic director. I’ll miss those quiet moments with him.”
Steve Fox, who succeeded Daquilante as N-R sports editor in 1996, also noted Paul’s welcoming presence to staff newcomers.
“I could not have asked for a better mentor as the sports editor,” Fox said. “Paul was always positive and supportive, even joining me on long road trips to cover high school playoff games in places like Klamath Falls and Pendleton and traveling to Linfield games as far off as Ashland, La Grande, Tacoma and Walla Walla.”
Daquilante visited Fox and his family after they moved to Michigan in 2003, a trip that included attending a Green Bay Packers game and a family trip to the Grand Rapids Zoo.
“Perhaps the most endearing memory my family has of Mr. Paul, as he is known in our house, is of his amazing kindness, thoughtful nature, and gentle personality,” Fox said. “Paul often took the time to reach out with an early morning phone call to check in to see how our kids were doing.”
Sherry and Rod Hevland were close friends with Daquilante and his partner, Maxine Byers. The two were godparents to the Hevland’s children, and Sherry also noted how much a positive presence “Uncle Paul” was in their kids’ lives.
While always interested in the lives of those around him, Daquilante rarely discussed his personal life with others, and shied away any attention given to him.
“I always appreciated getting glimpses into his life growing up in Portland near the river and of course going to University of Oregon,” Fox said.
Pointer noted how she made a birthday cake for him soon after joining the N-R.
“He said that was too much, so the next year I brought him donut holes,” she said. “He often took off his birthday so he could avoid the attention.”
Throughout his career, Daquilante provided many “full-circle” moments for others.
Don Loving of Newberg knew him briefly in the mid-1980s while he was the sports editor for the Newberg Graphic. Then, in 2002, the pair of longtime Oregon Ducks football season-ticket holders ended up with seats next to each other.
“We just got reacquainted, or actually acquainted since I didn’t know him well,” Loving said. “After two or three years, I said, ‘This is crazy. We’re both driving down from Yamhill County, why don’t (my wife) Anne and I pick you up? He was thrilled.”
The group spent about 20 years driving together to Ducks home games, and Loving and Daquilante also attended Ducks basketball and club hockey games.
“He’s just a big Duck guy,” Loving said. “He hated the Beavers and the Huskies.”
Fox noted: “When we last spoke, Paul was of course excitedly following his No. 1-ranked Ducks football team with cautious optimism that comes from so many years of fanhood and being a journalist.”
Former Willamina School District Superintendent Carrie Zimbrick met Daquilante when he covered her playing sports at Sheridan High School. When Zimbrick went on to play volleyball at for the Ducks, Daquilante traveled to Eugene to write a feature on her collegiate athletic career.
“I felt like he was my friend after that,” Zimbrick said. “When I became an administrator in Willamina and he was covering board meetings, I felt like we fell right back into that friendship.”
Zimbrick described Daquilante as honest, fair and caring in his reporting.
“He really wanted to support schools,” she said. “He wasn’t looking for a headline or dirt. He knew how much we cared about our kids, and how hard it was when something bad happened. … He always wrote in a way that felt very honest.”
N-R Managing Editor Kirby Neumann-Rea first met Daquilante while a student at South Albany. Daquilante was with the Democrat-Herald at the time.
“When I came to work for the News-Register in 2021, he was one of the first people I made contact with, and while he may have only barely remembered me, I remembered him,” Neumann-Rea said.
He added: “Just being in the same newsroom was an enjoyable thing for me because Paul was such a pleasure to work with. We had a unique kind of common ground, but it was that kind of connection to people that defined Paul as a person and a reporter.”
As a news reporter, Daquilante was tasked with covering the most difficult stories to go in the newspaper.
“Paul had a real talent for talking to people in high-stress situations and reporting their stories fairly and accurately,” said Bladine. “He covered difficult law enforcement, justice system and human tragedy stories with very, very rare complaints from people involved or his information sources.”
N-R Associate Editor Racheal Winter noted how he extended his gentle quality to everyone, in both humorous and somber moments.
“He needed to interview people who had suffered tremendous loss, trauma and tragedy,” Winter said. “Listening to him on the phone, I always admired the professional, yet exceedingly gentle and respectful way he asked people to talk about the most agonizing experiences of their lives.”
N-R photographer Rachel Thompson described Daquilante as “a true gentleman in every sense,” and also highlighted his ability to handle sensitive situations “with dignity and respect.”
“There couldn’t have been a better steward of the stories people shared with him,” Thompson said.
Former Sheriff Tim Svenson said Daquilante was always great to work with.
“He was always fair in his reporting, asked the right questions and pushed back on the tough topics,” Svenson said. “He served the citizens well.’
Daquilante won numerous journalism awards throughout his career in state and national competitions. Neumann-Rea noted his first-place award in 2021 for a series in which “he brought great empathy and personal understanding” to the issue of financial abuse of seniors.
“It was particularly meaningful coverage,” he said. “Paul always worked hard at his lifelong craft and it was a wonderful thing to see him recognized for it.”
Daquilante’s newspaper copy rarely needed editing, Neumann-Rea noted, “Yet he would often ask me questions about its clarity or thoroughness.”
Friends and colleagues also enjoyed his “bone-dry” and “deadpan” sense of humor, and how he was always great company on a road trip or on assignment.
“Paul taught me so much — often by example as much as his words. He showed up every day (early), exuded positive energy,” Fox said.
Rae noted: “I loved going on assignment with Paul. He was always finding something interesting to add to the story.”
Simply put, “He was good at what he did,” Pointer said. “I’ll miss him.”
Comments
CubFan
Paul was such a kind, gentle man. I never heard him raise his voice, or speak badly about anybody. He always asked, and seemed genuinely interested, in how I was doing. RIP Paul.
M. Isaac
I wish I had worked more with Paul. The few times that I crossed his path was always a positive experience.
Metwo
Thanks for the early morning Football and Blazer chats, walks for Diet Pepsi and just being my friend. Rest easy Buddy!