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| Columnist touched hundreds |
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| News - Community News | |||
| Written by Doug Carder | |||
| Wednesday, 04 March 2009 09:00 | |||
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Shirley Kohlenberg, former Herald news editor and columnist, died overnight Sunday. Louisburg residents called the Herald to express their condolences as news of her death spread Monday morning. Louisburg chiropractor Damon Dennis was stunned when he heard about her passing. “She just sat behind me in church yesterday,” Dennis said. “She always liked to give me a hard time. She was fun.” Kohlenberg, 72, was known for her leadership in the First Christian Church, her passion for politics, her charitable work, citizenship and accurate reporting. And for nearly a decade, she was known to hundreds of readers each week as the author of the popular column, Sense & Nonsense (See A2 for a reprint of Shirley’s retirement column June 22, 2005). “I always looked forward to her columns,” Louisburg Mayor Arlen Thompson said. “Whether you agreed with Shirley or not, you always knew where she stood, and I respected her for that. Her columns generated a lot of letters to the editor, and that’s good. She provided a public forum for an exchange of ideas, and that’s what a small-town newspaper should do.” Kohlenberg wasn’t afraid to tackle any topic in her columns, and she especially enjoyed writing about politics in the state Legislature, as evidenced by “Snow Swirls Inside Capitol Chambers.” Whether it was taking a U.S. Supreme Court justice to task, “Scalia Hunting Trips Compromise Decisions,” or urging people to treat everyone equally, “We Cannot Tolerate Rampant Intolerance,” Kohlenberg crafted each column with care and eloquence. Kohlenberg had a remarkable wit, which she displayed in columns like “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Vacations” and “Nothing Bugs Me More Than Bugs.” Kohlenberg abhorred road construction each spring, which she fondly referred to as “orange barrel season.” Roadwork was a frequent topic of columns such as “Summer Driving Can Be A Health Hazard.” And she could write a sports column with the best of them, “Keep Pete Rose Out of Cooperstown.” Once in awhile, she wasn’t afraid to show her grandmotherly side, “Watch For Children Traveling to School.” For all her hard-nosed political columns in which she held state and national politicians’ feet to the coals, deep down Kohlenberg cared about her fellow human being and was a devout Christian, which she wrote about passionately in columns such as “Sermons Can Be Fun and Enlightening.” Joyce Niebrugge, former Herald office manager, remembers the day Kohlenberg inquired about an opening at the newspaper in 1996. “Jack (grandson) was about to be born, and I was going to become a full-time grandma, so I decided to quit,” Niebrugge said. “Shirley came in and said she was interested in my job, and I knew instantly she was the right person.” Kohlenberg worked her way up from office manager to reporter, columnist and news editor at the time of her retirement in June 2005. Newspaper columnist was just one side of Kohlenberg. The Louisburg native and LHS graduate’s life had many dimensions. She was a charter member of the Agape Christian Center food pantry’s directors, an elder in the First Christian Church, and a Louisburg Rotarian for many years. She also had participated in Christmas in October, a group that annually repairs homes for those in need of assistance. “Shirley was always professional. She was very dedicated, and I believe she was one of the very first women to join the club,” fellow Rotarian Bob Nauman said of Kohlenberg. “I always enjoyed visiting with her about topics on the editorial page. She was a fun person and a classy lady.” Her love for politics and her desire to serve others led Kohlenberg to run for state office in 2004. A Democrat, Kohlenberg ran for the 6th District House seat against Republican incumbent Jene Vickrey. She was the first Democrat to challenge Vickrey since 1996. While she came up short in her bid to unseat the popular lawmaker, Vickrey gave her credit at the time for running a good campaign. Her platform was four-pronged — provide adequate funding for public education, ease the property tax burden on senior citizens, provide affordable health care for all Kansans and bring new industry to Kansas. She approached her church responsibilities with the same enthusiasm. She served as vice chair of First Christian Church’s board and was in line to chair the board in July. She had also served as an elder in the church. The Rev. Sandy Harris was in Israel and could not be reached for comment. Former pastor of the church, Anita Greening, fondly remembered Kohlenberg. “I always thought of her as having a true prophetic voice. The things she had to say weren’t always popular, but she wrote and said what she believed.” Church member Niebrugge was saddened by her death, along with dozens of other members of her First Christian family. “She was a greeter in church Sunday. It’s hard to believe (she’s gone),” Niebrugge said. “Shirley was an on-top-of-it kind of person.” As a reporter and later news editor, Kohlenberg was also on top of any issue affecting the city. Mayor Thompson called Kohlenberg a fair and accurate reporter. “She made sure to get both sides of a story before she reported it,” Thompson said. “She was very, very fair. “I remember right after my first term, Shirley told me I surprised her. She thought when I was elected mayor that all I would talk about was the city’s natural gas needs,” said Thompson, who had years of experience working in that industry. “But she said I talked very little about it, and she thought I had done a good job (as mayor). That meant a lot to me.” Thompson said even after Kohlenberg retired, she was quick to strike up a conversation about issues facing the city. “It was like she never retired,” Thompson chuckled. “I’m really going to miss her.” Kohlenberg is survived by her husband, Eldon, of more than 50 years and by several children and grandchildren. Services were pending Tuesday morning.
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