One of the few perks about working in media is that you get nice tributes when you pass away. In movies and television, maybe your name is mentioned in the closing credits. In newspapers, there is the obituary.
It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we report the loss of one of our own. Mark Perry, 50, was a designer, one of the creative production types who build the newspaper pages. Within the confines of the advertising already placed on pages, designers determine the size and placement of stories and pictures on the page, choose type styles and lend their creative expertise to the production process.
Mark, a lifelong Naperville resident, died Saturday after a short bout with colon cancer. His colleagues at The Sun are shocked and saddened by the quickness of his passing . He was at work just two weeks ago, having returned from vacation, looking thinner, and that typical good-natured attitude of his was missing. By the time the cancer was diagnosed, it was too late.
His wife, the former Lois Michel, worked at The Sun in the old days, down on Jackson Avenue, for Harold White, as an entertainment reporter. Our thoughts and prayers are with her, and the rest of Mark's family, during this time of incredible sadness.
Life is precious, and much too short.
