gerry labelle
1960 |
I retired last year after 40 years as a reporter and editor for The Associated Press. It was a good run in various places, ranging from Atlantic City, N.J., to Cairo, Egypt. Mostly loafing now, here in leafy Brooklyn. My wife, Eileen, is still working for AP, but looking forward to some travels once she, too, retires. My daughter, Catherine, has given us two grandchildren, Leo, 6, and Charlotte, 4. We're lucky that they're nearby in New Jersey so we get to see them often.
Sadly, Gerry passed away in February 2019 LaBelle, a 41-year veteran of the AP who spent years covering tumultuous events in the Middle East, died early Monday at the age of 76. Eileen Alt Powell (Email) - LaBelle's wife and a former AP journalist - said a memorial gathering will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday (March 2) at Duffy Funeral Home, 255 9th Street in Brooklyn. No ceremony, just fellowship, she said. By DEEPTI HAJELA NEW YORK (AP) - Gerald LaBelle, a former editor and correspondent with The Associated Press who spent years covering tumultuous events in the Middle East, including Lebanon's civil war, the bombing of a U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and the kidnapping of his own boss Terry Anderson, has died. He was 76. LaBelle died early Monday at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York, said his wife, Eileen Alt Powell, also a former AP reporter who covered the fighting in Lebanon. He had pneumonia, and had also been suffering for several years with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. After joining the AP in 1968, LaBelle was named news editor in Beirut in 1983. He was working there in March 1985 when Anderson, then chief Middle East correspondent for the AP, was kidnapped off the street by Islamic militants. It was a time when journalists were frequently targeted, but LaBelle "never balked at the danger or the incredible workload of covering Lebanon's travails," said Anderson, who was freed after seven years in captivity. "G.G. and Eileen were sent together to Beirut in the midst of the long civil war. They were covering an airplane hijacking at the airport before they'd done more than drop their bags at the Commodore Hotel," Anderson said in an email. "The two were a dynamite pair." LaBelle's time in the Middle East also consisted of covering Israel's invasion of Lebanon, including the aftermath of the September 1982 massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by Christian militants. Sent to check out reports that there had been killings, he reported that "bodies of men lay in a jumble as if they had been herded together and gunned down." GG LaBelle in 1988 Other stories he covered included the Iran-Iraq War and Palestinian clashes with Israel. LaBelle was once hit by shrapnel while peering out of a hotel to watch militiamen fighting in the streets. LaBelle also spent time reporting from New Delhi, Jerusalem and finally Cairo, where he was AP's chief Middle East correspondent from December 1996 to February 1999. "He loved every minute of it," Powell said. "I think that he would say having an opportunity to translate foreign events for domestic audiences was both a thrill and a challenge." LaBelle returned to the AP's New York City headquarters in 1999, where he worked as a news editor in the New York City bureau and other areas. He retired from AP in 2009 as an enterprise editor for international news. "It was people like G.G. who made you proud to be in the news business and to be part of the same organization he served so well in so many places," said Larry Heinzerling, the AP's former deputy international editor. "No matter where I went, everyone high and low with whom he had ever worked said they loved G.G. and Eileen for their journalism, their courage, their ethics and their empathy." Born in New Rochelle, New York, LaBelle grew up in Tucson, Arizona. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Arizona. He worked at a small paper before joining the AP, where he did stints as a broadcast writer, reporter and editor in New York City, New Jersey and Washington before going abroad. Along with Powell, LaBelle is survived by his daughter; two grandchildren; his ex-wife and a brother. Memories of GG LaBelle Pat Milton (Email) - I learned last night of the passing of Gerald LaBelle. GG as we know him, mentor and teacher, his writing and unmatched style made reading such a joy. His humor made all the difficult circumstances seem so easy. His wise counsel made all the troubles seem surmountable. I will not forget how he cared - and how much he cared - for his staff. Through his friendship I was able to reconnect with my wife Bahar 32 years ago. We remained friends and we became family after AP. We pray for him and express our deep gratitude. Eileen and his daughter are proud of him. We are proud of him. My visits to NY will not be the same. Last Updated: 2019) |