Montgomery, Gayle Berton

 

 

 

 

March 6, 1934 – July 17, 2020

By Bob Loomis, Correspondent

CHICO — Gayle Montgomery, who loved journalism from his first newspaper class in high school and went on to become the political editor of the Oakland Tribune when that paper was a state and national news powerhouse, died at his home here on July 17 following a massive stroke.

Montgomery, who was 86, passed away peacefully with family by his side and his cat Toby at his feet.

“He was collegial but always on the hunt for a story,” said former U.S. Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez. “He had a gift for detecting a good story in a seemingly ordinary conversation. There are very few like that now. He had a great sense of humor but was deadly serious about his job.”

Montgomery covered suburban news in the Oakland Tribune’s Martinez bureau in the mid-1960s when the Tribune was delivered to virtually every home in the East Bay. He rose to cover presidential conventions and campaigns and become a top editor at the paper known for his reporting skills and professionalism.

Born in Cordell, Oklahoma, Gayle Burton Montgomery moved with his parents Charlie and Mary Montgomery, his sister Myrtle and brothers Monty and Wayne to California where they settled in San Joaquin Valley.

Montgomery met his bride-to-be, Roseanne Hedges, at San Jose State University. They married Dec. 28, 1956, and in 2019 celebrated their 63rd anniversary. In 1957, Montgomery joined the U.S. Army. He spent six months at Fort Ord and remained in the Army Reserve until 1965.

From the time he was assistant editor of the El Coyote newspaper at Denair High School, his passion was to be a journalist. He received his bachelor’s degree from San Jose State, one of the top journalism schools in the country, in 1959.

In 1959, Montgomery took his first position as a newspaper reporter for the Pittsburg Post Dispatch in Contra Costa County. He honed his skills on local stories around the East Bay. In 1964, he got his first major newspaper reporting job in the Martinez news bureau of the Tribune. His years there took him from reporter to associate editor and then political editor.

“He understood and taught the importance of reporting the truth,” said his son Brian of Crockett. For aspiring writers and reporters, he also instilled the importance to “write every day” and to get a story always ask “How can I help you?”

Montgomery retired from the Tribune in 1983 and used his experience with the press and California politics to become head of public relations for East Bay Municipal Utility District. Dennis Richmond, a former local television news anchor once told him, “Gayle, you are on the air more than I am.” That was a result of keeping the public updated on California’s drought.

Andrea Pook, senior public information representative for EBMUD, said the utility “honors Gayle Montgomery, a true journalist in every sense of the word. As spokesperson for this agency for more than a decade, he navigated through many challenging situations, including conservation, labor issues, water recycling and broadening EBMUD’s water supply sources, and the inception of the Customer Assistance Program to help customers in need. We are grateful to have Gayle’s voice as part of EBMUD history.”

After retiring from EBMUD in 1994, Montgomery had time to focus on his dream of writing and publishing a book about the man who had been owner and publisher of the Oakland Tribune, the late Republican U.S. Senator William F. Knowland. In 1998, the book, “One Step From the White House,” co-authored with former fellow Tribune reporter Jim Johnson, was published and critically acclaimed as a history of the politics of the 1950s and ’60s, particularly Knowland’s battle with then-U.S. Sen. Richard Nixon for the GOP vice presidential nomination.

Johnson remembers him as “an outstanding reporter, but more so as a valued friend. I knew Gayle for more than 57 years and we remained solid friends. His doors were always open.”

While Montgomery covered stories that won recognition for exposing shoddy legal practices, and covered presidential candidates and campaigns, Johnson and others may best remember a prank the pair played during their early days in the Tribune Martinez bureau.

“In 1967, we poured grocery store canned fruits and vegetables into preserves jars that we submitted to the Contra Costa Fair. Our trick earned several prizes and the anger of fair officials. We received national news attention. It was one of Gayle’s great ideas.”

Montgomery spent much of his retirement traveling, enjoying taking friends and family on cruises aboard his classic Chris Craft boat and writing stories about his beloved California Delta. In 2003, he and Roseanne moved from Concord. to Florence, Oregon, to be near the ocean and the sea air. Around 2015, the couple moved to Chico to be close to family.

In 2019, Montgomery’s health began to decline. He continued to monitor all the major papers, news and was current on national politics. He suffered a major stroke on July 13, but could still speak and was quite focused. He talked with family of the power struggles in Congress and said he would have liked to visit the ghost towns of the Old West just one more time.

Besides his wife, he is survived by their four sons Greg, Paul, Brian and Sean, seven grandchildren:  Maddy, Max, Jack, Gabrielle, Marianna, Sophie and Rachel, and one great-grandchild, Aidan.

A celebration of Montgomery’s life will be held after the COVID-19 pandemic crisis is over, which might not be until next year. Montgomery requested that in lieu of flowers or donations, he be remembered by votes for anyone but the incumbent president.

Bob Loomis was a former reporter and copy editor for the Oakland Tribune. Staff writers Harry Harris and George Kelly contributed to this report.