Joseph E. Duerr, who served as editor of The Record for 25 years, died the morning of Sept. 19. He was 86.
Duerr began reporting for The Record in 1968 under the leadership of Father William Zahner. He succeeded Father Zahner in 1985 and led The Record until he retired in 2010.
In the early days, he used typewriters and darkrooms to publish the weekly paper. He brought color photographs to the newspaper and introduced new systems over the years that modernized The Record’s publishing process. By the time he retired, The Record had begun publishing digital content in addition to print.
Duerr was highly regarded for his award-winning weekly editorials, which delved deeply into church teaching, papal documents and current events, applying the church’s perspective to issues of the day.
At the time of his retirement at the end of 2010, Duerr said the Second Vatican Council set the tone for his ministry and The Record’s mission.
“Looking back over the years, I think we must realize that we had a genius in our midst here. We had a wise man writing those editorials.”
— Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly
“There was a decree from the council about the role of communications in the church today, and another document was produced that more specifically dealt with implementing that decree.”
The missions of Catholic newspapers all across the nation “were shaped by that decree,” Duerr said, which “emphasized that Catholic people had a right to information about their church, so that they can take a more active role in the church.”
“That elevated the Catholic press to be more professional,” he noted. “Catholic newspapers should be no less professional in their presentation and operation than the secular press. Father Zahner said often that the Vatican Council and that decree provided the impetus for what we do.”
During his four decades at The Record, Duerr worked for four archbishops, though Archbishop John A. Floersh died two weeks after he was hired.
For most of his tenure, he worked with the late Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly, who led the archdiocese from 1982 to 2007, and appointed Duerr as editor.
“He is one of the most competent editors I’ve known, and I’ve known quite a few from my time as general secretary (of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops),” Archbishop Kelly said during a 2010 interview about Duerr’s retirement. “I knew that with Joe, nothing could ever go wrong. In the newspaper business, it’s so easy to make a mistake, but he just never made one.”
Archbishop Kelly said that, over the decades, he read Duerr’s editorials faithfully.
“He won many awards for his editorials,” the archbishop said. “Looking back over the years, I think we must realize that we had a genius in our midst here. We had a wise man writing those editorials.”
Duerr won first-place awards for his editorials at the national and local levels. And he led The Record staff in earning dozens of awards, as well. Honors came from the national Catholic Press Association (now Catholic Media Association), the Kentucky Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists Louisville Pro Chapter. A story from 1993 noted that The Record had won another first-place award from the Catholic Press Association for best front page design — it was the 10th time in 20 years.
Duerr, a long-time member of St. Agnes and St. Stephen Martyr churches, is survived by his wife, Patricia, son Patrick (Sandy) of Louisville and daughter Dana Wright (Theo) of Lincoln, Neb., five grandchildren and brother-in-law David Chapman of Louisville.
The visitation will be held Oct. 2 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Bosse Funeral Home, 1355 Ellison Avenue. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Oct. 3 at 10 a.m. at St. Stephen Martyr Church, 2931 Pindell Avenue. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery.
