1918
Pershing
2015
Pershing C. Rohrer
November 11, 1918 — February 23, 2015
Pershing Charles Rohrer, Sports Editor Emeritus and senior staff writer of the Record-Courier, passed away Monday, February 23 in his home in Ravenna. Born in Cumberland, Maryland on November 11, 1918, he was named for the Commander of the American Expeditionary Force, General John Pershing, and for a decade in that community was referenced on “Armistice Day” as “the Armistice Baby.”
He grew up in Cumberland, a community he called “down home,” working as a newsboy at an early age. He was active in the local sports scene in the 1930s, organizing baseball and basketball teams as a manager; most memorable was the Cumberland Dragons basketball team. He wrote his first newspaper column for the La Salle High School paper, the “Torch” in 1935 and graduated from that institution in 1936. He immediately began a career in the newspaper business, working for the Cumberland Time-News and also in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he appears on the 1940 census.
During World War II, he spent five years — his only stint out of the newspaper business — in Baltimore, Maryland as a clerk for the Martin Aircraft Company; he said that employees were discouraged from leaving such wartime jobs at that time and in 1946 he moved to Athens, Ohio to become Sports Editor of the Athens Messenger. It was there that he met Janet Raymond, a professor at Ohio University, and they were married in 1951.
The next 10 years took the couple first to Plainfield, New Jersey and quickly to Ravenna, Ohio in 1952, where Persh became Sports Editor of the Record-Courier, a position he would hold — save for one year in Indianapolis in 1959-60 and two more in Defiance, Ohio (1960-62) — until 1989. His only son, Thomas, was born during the brief stay in Indianapolis in 1959. Thomas and his wife Sharon have two children, Persh's grandchildren Pershelle and Vincent.
Following the death of his wife Janet in 1980, Persh remarried on Aug. 4, 1990, to Mary Steele Solitro. Surviving family members include daughter Anita (Gary) Carr of Ravenna; grandchildren Aaron (Amy) Halsne of Munroe Falls; great grandchildren Madison, Gannon and AJ; Matt (Nicki) Byers of Ravenna and great grandson Lincoln; daughter Annette (Ken) Speidel of Ravenna; grandson Jonathon Speidel of Newark; granddaughter Lindsay Speidel of Worcester, Mass., and her fiance Alan Nedley of Nashua, N.H.; son Matt Solitro of Brooksville, Fla.; and Persh's beloved dog Geo.
Persh's long career in journalism led to a number of respected awards and Hall of Fame inductions, including: Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame, Portage County Hall of Fame, Portage County Bowling Association Hall of Fame, named Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Ravenna Knights of Columbus, Media Service Award by the Ohio High School Athletic Association, Metro League Appreciation Award, Portage County Golf Association Appreciation Award and Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame.
Persh’s “retirement” never really ended, as he continued writing for the Record-Courier as a staff writer on golf and bowling. His last column was published on Sunday, February 22, 2015, nearly 80 years after his first. He had been recognized as the oldest-working journalist in Ohio by the Ohio Newspaper Association and Associated Press.
Calling hours will be observed from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Shorts Spicer Crislip Funeral Home in Ravenna. A Catholic funeral service will be held at Immaculate Conception in Ravenna on Friday at 10 a.m. A lunch will follow at Tobin Hall at 11:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Immaculate Conception or the Animal Protective League.
He grew up in Cumberland, a community he called “down home,” working as a newsboy at an early age. He was active in the local sports scene in the 1930s, organizing baseball and basketball teams as a manager; most memorable was the Cumberland Dragons basketball team. He wrote his first newspaper column for the La Salle High School paper, the “Torch” in 1935 and graduated from that institution in 1936. He immediately began a career in the newspaper business, working for the Cumberland Time-News and also in Morgantown, West Virginia, where he appears on the 1940 census.
During World War II, he spent five years — his only stint out of the newspaper business — in Baltimore, Maryland as a clerk for the Martin Aircraft Company; he said that employees were discouraged from leaving such wartime jobs at that time and in 1946 he moved to Athens, Ohio to become Sports Editor of the Athens Messenger. It was there that he met Janet Raymond, a professor at Ohio University, and they were married in 1951.
The next 10 years took the couple first to Plainfield, New Jersey and quickly to Ravenna, Ohio in 1952, where Persh became Sports Editor of the Record-Courier, a position he would hold — save for one year in Indianapolis in 1959-60 and two more in Defiance, Ohio (1960-62) — until 1989. His only son, Thomas, was born during the brief stay in Indianapolis in 1959. Thomas and his wife Sharon have two children, Persh's grandchildren Pershelle and Vincent.
Following the death of his wife Janet in 1980, Persh remarried on Aug. 4, 1990, to Mary Steele Solitro. Surviving family members include daughter Anita (Gary) Carr of Ravenna; grandchildren Aaron (Amy) Halsne of Munroe Falls; great grandchildren Madison, Gannon and AJ; Matt (Nicki) Byers of Ravenna and great grandson Lincoln; daughter Annette (Ken) Speidel of Ravenna; grandson Jonathon Speidel of Newark; granddaughter Lindsay Speidel of Worcester, Mass., and her fiance Alan Nedley of Nashua, N.H.; son Matt Solitro of Brooksville, Fla.; and Persh's beloved dog Geo.
Persh's long career in journalism led to a number of respected awards and Hall of Fame inductions, including: Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame, Portage County Hall of Fame, Portage County Bowling Association Hall of Fame, named Outstanding Citizen of the Year by the Ravenna Knights of Columbus, Media Service Award by the Ohio High School Athletic Association, Metro League Appreciation Award, Portage County Golf Association Appreciation Award and Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame.
Persh’s “retirement” never really ended, as he continued writing for the Record-Courier as a staff writer on golf and bowling. His last column was published on Sunday, February 22, 2015, nearly 80 years after his first. He had been recognized as the oldest-working journalist in Ohio by the Ohio Newspaper Association and Associated Press.
Calling hours will be observed from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at Shorts Spicer Crislip Funeral Home in Ravenna. A Catholic funeral service will be held at Immaculate Conception in Ravenna on Friday at 10 a.m. A lunch will follow at Tobin Hall at 11:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Immaculate Conception or the Animal Protective League.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Pershing C. Rohrer, please visit our flower store.