Canadians grieved the death of NDP leader Jack Layton last week but some of us at the Producer were grieving the loss of a different Jack — former managing editor Jack Braidek.
He died Aug. 19 at the age of 84.
I never worked with Jack; his time at the Producer preceded mine, though I too once served as managing editor. When I became editor, Jack would stop in for the occasional visit to see how things were going at the newspaper and offer some of his perceptions on the world of farming.
On these visits he would often he’d have a copy of The Economist or some equally brainy magazine under his arm and would leave copies of interesting articles that might have implications for future agricultural reporting.
Our Jack was a farm boy who retained a lifelong interest in farming, farmers and the world agricultural picture. He had a keen appreciation for those who made contributions to the industry. He served on the board for the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame, and would sometimes give us a sneak preview of who the next inductees were going to be.
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Our Jack is one of this newspaper’s “old guard” and the news of his passing was sad indeed. He was a gentleman and a gentle man. He will be missed.
