Risdon, Hal

Oakland Tribune, The (CA) - Friday, October 20, 2006

  Hal Risdon, a top rewrite man on the Oakland Tribune staff in the 1940s and 1950s, who later served as the paper's labor editor, has died at his Crescent City home. He was 87.

After leaving the Tribune in the late 1960s, Mr. Risdon became head of public relations for Pacific Gas & Electric Co., a post he held for several years.

"What I recall most is that Hal was a very impartial labor editor and had the trust of Bay Area labor leaders," said Bob Heisey, a longtime Tribune colleague.

Morton Cathro, another co-worker, remembers Risdon as a "tall, handsome redhead whose booming baritone and hearty laugh frequently rose above the noisy clatter of typewriters in the city room. "He was the first person I saw and heard when I walked in to apply for a job as a copy boy in the summer of 1941," Cathro said. "I quickly came to admire him as a diligent reporter, fine rewrite man and meticulous interviewer who routinely called back his sources to verify facts and pin down exact quotes."

While in retirement in Crescent City, Risdon expanded his record collection, tinkered with vintage automobiles and spent time at his cabin at Cedar Ridge in the Sierra, Heisey said. "He was nearly hit on the head by a huge sugar pine cone when he walked outside one day. From then on, he always wore his PG&E hard hat while in the yard."

Mr. Risdon was preceded in death by his wife, Wilma, and their artist son, Bill. There were no services.