Woody West, ‘rock’ of Times, dies at 70

Woody West, a longtime Washington newspaperman and former executive editor of The Washington Times, died yesterday at his home in Hagerstown, Md., of lung cancer that was diagnosed only a month ago. He was 70.

Mr. West, the associate editor of The Times at the time of his death, joined the newspaper as an editorial writer in late 1982, six months after its founding. He soon became managing editor and then executive editor.

As the associate editor since 1986, Mr. West edited the weekly Civil War page and was a member of the committee overseeing the Sunday books pages, choosing books for review and matching them with reviewers. He was a frequent reviewer himself, not only for The Times, but for Insight and the Weekly Standard.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that but for Woody’s leadership, his drive and his knowledge of the business, The Washington Times might not be here today,” Wesley Pruden, the editor in chief of The Times, said last night. “In the early days of the newspaper, when I was his managing editor, we nursed the newspaper through several close calls. I particularly recall that on one night in those early days, when our presses went down on deadline, Woody told me: ’As long as we’ve got a working copy machine, we’ll put something on the street.’ He got the paper out.

“Woody was the brother I never had. I don’t know how we’ll manage without his advice and his cheerful encouragement. He was the go-to guy for everyone on the staff. Woody was our rock.”

After the Washington Star suspended publication in 1981, and before he joined The Times at the invitation of Smith Hempstone, the executive editor in those early days, Mr. West was a Washington-based editorial writer for the Milwaukee Journal. He worked at the Star for 20 years, first as a reporter and for the last seven years as an editorial writer.

Mr. West was born June 6, 1934, in Helena, Mont., and lived there until he moved to California with his family after World War II. He was in the Marine Corps from 1954 to 1957, serving in Thailand and Japan; his last duty station was at the Marine Barracks in Washington.

After his discharge, he attended St. John’s College in Annapolis. He was graduated from the American University with a degree in history.

His first newspaper job was on the Lincoln [Neb.] Star. Next was the Omaha World-Herald, where he worked as reporter and copy editor before joining the Washington Star.

Mr. West is survived by his wife, JoAnn, and his sister-in-law, Suzanne Wochos of Hagerstown. Services and burial will be private.

Memorial contributions can be made to the scholarship fund of the 3rd Marine Division Association Inc., P.O. Box 297, Dumfries, VA 22026-0297.