J. Howard Crooks, a pipe-chewing former Marine and fierce advocate of journalistic integrity and his beloved Sterling, died Sunday, Dec. 28, in the northeastern Colorado town he cherished. He was 89.
Crooks was born Dec. 23, 1925, in Fort Morgan to James Howard and J. Marie Hansen Crooks Sr. He graduated from Sterling High School in 1943.
Crooks never strayed far from Sterling and was feted for his support of vocational and educational programs at local schools and at Northeastern Junior College. One of his proudest moments was receiving the “Colorado Vocational Association’s Merit Award to a Friend.”
But it was through his 40-year career in journalism, particularly at the Sterling Journal-Advocate, that he influenced hundreds of young reporters. On their first day at the Journal-Advocate, Crooks drove new reporting hires around Sterling to introduce them to the town’s movers and shakers.
Most often, they were not mayors or city council members but shopkeepers, bar owners and farmers.
Delinda Korrey, a University of Colorado graduate, worked for Crooks both as a reporter and editor. He was a man who appeared gruff but worked hard to instill in his young charges the value of a good, honestly reported story, Korrey said.
“J. Howard will always symbolize a part of journalism’s history when newspapers were the major form of information — when accuracy was much more important than speed, and content was more valuable than cash flow,” she said. “Howard believed that each one of us has a story to tell. Granted, some of the stories may not be worth repeating, but each person’s story mattered.”
Crooks enlisted in the U.S. Marines during World War II and served as a machine gunner in the Pacific until his discharge in 1946.
He returned to Sterling and attended Northeastern Junior College, where he studied for two years before joining the then-Sterling Daily Advocate in 1948.
In August 1950, he married Alberta M. Reedy in Brush. Crooks was called to active duty as a Marine correspondent in Korea until 1952, serving as a combat journalist.
In 1953, Crooks came home and became the managing editor of the Sterling Journal-Advocate. Four years later, he moved to Alamosa, where he served as the sports editor of the Alamosa Valley Courier.
Crooks returned to Sterling in 1960 and became a general assignment reporter for the Journal-Advocate. He worked his way through management until he was named the editor emeritus of the newspaper on June 30, 1985. He officially retired from the newspaper on Dec. 31, 1990.
