Staff Reports
Author, journalist and teacher Harry Minetree died Sept. 17 in Glendale, Calif. He was 83.
Born on April 7, 1935 in Poplar Bluff to Richard Herbert and Ruth Esther Minetree, Harry graduated from PBHS in 1953 and attended Harvard and Vanderbilt universities. He earned his MFA in English and Creative Writing from the University of Iowa in 1962 and spent the next seven years teaching at Columbia College, Memphis State University, Syracuse University and Lindenwood College. He was also a guest lecturer at the University of London, The Independent newspaper in East Hampton, N.Y. reported.
His biography of heart surgeon Denton Cooley, "Cooley: The Career of a Great Heart Surgeon," was published by Harper's in 1973. It was a book club selection and also printed in German and Spanish.
As a journalist in the 1970s, Minetree's byline appeared in Time Magazine, The New York Times and Hearst publications. He was nominated and won awards in foreign reporting from the Overseas Press Club for his work in Africa.
He wrote and produced three documentary films for PBS -- "The Most Endangered Species ... George Adamson" which was narrated by John Huston, "The Most Endangered Species ... Dr. Denton Cooley," and "A Reporter in Grenada."
Minetree married Judith Ann Garner on Nov. 13, 1955. The couple had six children; Harry II, Lee Vernon, Elizabeth Jett, Hugh Quenton, Garner Jay and Judith McVey. He is survived by three grandchildren and a brother, Dr. Thomas Minetree of Alabama. Another brother, Richard Minetree, preceded him in death along with their parents.