Wiley Masters, longtime Times-Picayune editor, dies at 86
Times Picayune 03-25-2010
Submitted By NOVA

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Wiley Masters, a longtime editor at The Times-Picayune,
died Wednesday of pneumonia at Canon Hospice. He was 86.

A native of Dothan, Ala., Mr. Masters worked for The
Mobile Register and edited a weekly newspaper in
Sylvester, Ga., before joining The Times-Picayune's staff
in 1956.

The next year, he faced a huge assignment: piecing
together a story from telephone reports of Hurricane
Audrey's assault on the Louisiana coast. The eventual toll
of the dead and missing was 531.

"We had no idea how strong a hurricane can be," he said in
a 1990 interview.

Mr. Masters was The Times-Picayune's state editor when the
newspaper merged with The States-Item in 1980. He was
named an assistant metro editor, and he retired in May
1988.

Suburban editor Kim Chatelain, who was a reporter when Mr.
Masters was an editor, said he was "a pleasure to work
with."

"He was a kind and gentle man," Chatelain said. "He was
the complete opposite of the image of the gruff newspaper
editor."

Mr. Masters had an active retirement. He taught adult-
literacy classes and was a volunteer at the Aquarium of
the Americas, where he logged more than 5,000 hours. He
also wrote a column, "Senior Circuit," for The Times-
Picayune's community news section.

In 1995, he received the New Orleans Council on Aging's
Retired & Senior Volunteer Program's Advisory Council
Award for giving more than 500 hours.

Survivors include his wife, Anna Margaret Masters; a
daughter, Annette Myers of Little Rock, Ark.; a stepson,
Keith Menne of Grand Ledge, Mich.; a stepdaughter, Leslie
Duvalle of Mandeville; and two step-grandchildren.

A memorial service at John Calvin Presbyterian Church will
be held later in the spring.