Frank Hale Camp Jr., 76, of Fairhope died Jan. 20, 2015 after a long illness.
He was born in Mobile, the oldest child of Frank H. Camp Sr. and Audrey Field Camp.
Mr. Camp was a retired journalist who began his career at the Mobile Press Register while still a student at Murphy High School. He followed that career to the Birmingham News, the Pontiac Press, the Detroit News, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the New York Times.
A copy editor, the posts he held at the Times included assistant foreign desk editor, assistant news editor, editor of the national edition, deputy editor for administration of the New York Times Sunday Magazine and deputy editor for special publications.
He won two Publisher’s Awards. He was one of only a handful of people who had the authority and knowledge to stop the presses at the New York Times.
After his retirement, he moved to a house on Fort Morgan Road. He and his late wife, Helen C. Camp, were the founding co-chairs of the South Baldwin Democrats. He ran as the Democratic candidate for the state legislature on a platform calling for elimination of the sales tax on groceries and better environmental stewardship of the Gulf. For his efforts, he received the Freedom Award of the Baldwin County Democratic Party in 2006.
Mr. Camp also wrote a column for The Pelican for several years during his retirement.
He enjoyed woodworking, bird watching, stargazing and going for walks on the beach. He was a dedicated regular at karaoke night at Tacky Jack’s 2, where he enjoyed singing the works of Frank Sinatra.
He was a graduate of the University of Missouri at St. Louis.
He is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Catherine and Kevin Boyle of Winchester, Mass.; his granddaughter, Erin Boyle of Winchester, Mass.; his grandson, Terry Boyle of Woburn, Mass.; his sisters, Judith Guard and Dee Rooney, both of Marietta, Ga.; his brother, Tim Camp of Mobile; and many nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
A celebration of Frank’s life will be held Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015, at 11 a.m., at Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home in Fairhope.
The family will receive friends from 10 a.m. until the service time.
Arrangements by Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home, Fairhope.
