Guy Howard Unangst

Guy Unangst died Friday, March 8, 2019 at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Jacksonville,
Fla., after a sudden illness. He was born in Pittsburgh, Penn., on June 15, 1943 to
Howard Guy Unangst and Joyce Kindt Unangst. He was the youngest of three,
predeceased by his sister, Gail Begley, and brother, Johnny. He was graduated from
Douglas Southall Freeman High School in Virginia in June 1961 and matriculated
from Washington & Lee University in 1965 with a B.A. in Journalism, followed by a
stint in the Army Air National Guard as a radio operator. He was married and
divorced twice, a fact he would probably like left out. He did not have any children.
Beyond the statistics, he was a complex man, who preferred to be called "Guy" as
many people struggled to correctly pronounce his last name. Unangst, he would say,
Long U, then "nangst:" two syllables. He didn't understand the Southern respect
tradition of a surname but eventually became comfortable with those not close to
him calling him Mr. Guy.
He was a newspaperman to the core, cutting his teeth on sports stories as a cub
reporter covering American Legion Baseball in Virginia for the Richmond Times-
Dispatch. He racked up an impressive number of parking tickets there because he
was so enchanted by the whole process, he didn't want to go plug the meter. He said
it was a small price to pay for that experience.
He went on to become a sports reporter in Norfolk: he wanted badly to be a writer,
but never thought he could measure up. Guy was not a man to do something he
wasn't good at for long. He found something he could do even better: organize a
page and edit someone else's work. With that combination, he sought out the best
writers and stepped behind them to make each word count. He was hesitant to
endorse anything short of perfection, deadline or not.
He went on to hold prestigious editor slots at the Philadelphia Inquirer and was part
of a Pulitzer team, and then he was hired-gun editor at the Fort Worth Star-
Telegram, where he led a team of reporters to award-winning exposes.
He finished his career in 2009 at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as the special
projects editor and Sunday editor and Washington editor.
Then, he moved to Florida, following his longtime best friend � and former reporter
prot�g� � Andrea Harter, to continue his relationship as an adopted member of the
Harter family, all of whom are heartbroken at his passing.
In addition to Andrea, he leaves behind sad members of the Jacksonville Bridge Club,
notably Liz Gelwicks, who was a regular player partner; a close friend of three
decades, Chandler Driggs of Pennsylvania; and his favorite waitress at Longhorn,
Pam Burr. His neighbors were especially kind and protective of him and he was
lucky to have them. A bloodline descendant, Gail's daughter, Stephanie "Stevie"
Restelli lives in Pennsylvania.
Guy was a man who liked Glenlivet Scotch daily. He ordered his drinks with
Drambuie in-and-out (save the extra, he will have more than one) and then, in a
rocks glass he wanted it filled with Glenlivet. He took offense when someone called
it a fancy Rusty Nail. If they got the drinks right, he was a very generous tipper.
Breakfast at Terry's on the Northside was a favorite haunt: hamburger steak, two

eggs scrambled with cheese, and a Diet Pepsi was the standard fare. He took his
Aleppo Turkish Chili Pepper with him everywhere.
He liked movies where things blow up and real news that was objective and to the
point. A political junkie, Guy hated commercials. He loved Mazdas and drove them
way too fast and furiously. He was an indefatigable Boston Red Sox fan and would
plan his week around the televised game unless it interfered with his twice-weekly
dinners with Andrea at Longhorn.
Last March, Guy was diagnosed with lung cancer � stage 4 � a prognosis that turned
out to be false and was revised to stage 2. He was deemed cured after just four
radiation sessions. He was a three-pack-a-day smoker until he quit for the last time
� which he had down to the hour � more than 15 years ago. An unopened pack of
cigarettes remained by his bed to remind him he could do anything. His demise
came from a complication following a cancer check, which ironically proved the
cancer did not return.
Guy loved fine linens, cats, expensive eyeglasses, and pretty women. He had an
ability to be charming and crass at the same time. He was a little obsessed with
dragons and obtaining master points in bridge. He could not text very well, nor did
he want to. He was a check writer, eschewing modern technology for old-school
traditions, but he did have fondness for the latest anything with a button or remote
control.
He was loving, kind, and thoughtful when it counted and had great trust in people in
his small circle. He took great care to see numerous doctors to ensure his continued
generally good health.
He hated adjectives and would have preferred brevity, but he also knew to whom he
was leaving this task to, so he will not be surprised when he reads it from heaven
that it probably says more than it should and never enough to capture who he really
was. In short, he would say it needs an editor.
A memorial service is tentatively scheduled for April 6th at 10am at Jacksonville School of Bridge.
Local arrangements under the direction of Naugle Schnauss Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 808 Margaret Street, Jacksonville, Florida 32204, 904-6893-9288