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Charlie
Brill was, at one time or another, educator, photographer,
author, sailor, and practical jokester.
Joining
Kent JMC in 1964, Charlie spent the next 30 years teaching,
cajoling, demanding that his students learn to see the world
visually and that they try to capture that world on film.
He
knew and appreciated the importance of the printed word, but
it was the photograph - properly conceived and executed -
that made a story come alive, Charlie believed.
During
his time at Kent JMC, Charlie would plunge into his teaching
enthusiastically. And when the world of academia became too
much for him, he would retreat. He jogged, went cross-country
skiing, put his boat in the water and sailed away. And, he
would return to the Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota to visit
his Native American friends.
Charlie
died on June 25 from complications following a fall from a
ladder while painting his house in Paradise, Mich. He was
71.
He
was born in Milwaukee, Wisc. on Feb. 2, 1932. He earned bachelor
and master's degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota.
He also served in the Air Force in Germany.
Charlie
worked six years for the Minneapolis Tribune after the service.
He was the "first University of Minnesota School of Journalism
graduate to specialize in photojournalism," according
to an article in the October 1958 issue of the NPPA magazine,
then
called National Press Photographer. Jim Gordon, retired photojournalism
professor at Bowling Green State University and former editor
of NPPA, says the headline on the story called Charlie "first
of a new breed" of photojournalists.
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Charlie Brill
Photo from "Red Lake Nation" cover
Charlie
is survived by his wife, Jan; son, Mark, of Tucson; daughters:
Lisa, of Cleveland, and Amy Selke, of Boston; six grandchildren;
and his brother, James, of Menominee Falls. A service was
held on June 28 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
Memorial
contributions may be made to Faith Lutheran Church in Sault
Ste. Marie or the American Cancer Society.
In
addition, a Kent JMC scholarship is being established, according
to Jeff Fruit, school director. Jan Brill and her children
will decide on the kind and amount of the scholarship, and
details will be announced later. However, alumni and friends
who wish to contribute may do so through the School of Journalism
and Mass Communication, and we will earmark those funds
for the scholarship once it's established.
Jan
may be contacted at P.O. Box 3, Paradise, MI, 49768.
Read
more of Charlie's story
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