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Douglas Hissom
I don’t recall ever seeing him in a Fedora, but in many respects, Doug Hissom would have been comfortable in a big city newsroom from an old movie. At the Shepherd Express from the late 1980s through the late ‘90s, Hissom presided over a busy, messy office of overflowing waste baskets and ashtrays with phones ringing and fingers pounding on keyboards. And like newsmen of old, Hissom saw himself as champion for the voiceless, a thorn underfoot of uncaring authority, a needle in the balloon of pretense.
Doug Hissom died on June 9. He was 59 years old.
Hissom graduated from UW-Milwaukee and honed his craft at the UWM Post. He began writing for the Shepherd Express in the ‘80s and embodied the paper’s spirit in those years. He rose to the position of editor and publisher before standing aside when Joel McNally came onboard in 1996. He continued as news editor through 2007.
He was also a bartender and cook in many Milwaukee bars and restaurants and played drums in local bands. His love of the outdoors was evident in his writing on environmental issues. He enjoyed canoeing and, in the company of a friend, braved the high waves of Lake Michigan and paddled across to Michigan in 26 hours.
A memorial service will be held 1 p.m., June 21 at Hafemeister Funeral Home, 611 E. Main St., Watertown. Instead of flowers, please donate to your favorite charity in Doug Hissom’s memory. To plant a tree in his memory, please visit Tribute Store.
