<

Temporary Guestbook
Comments here will be transported once Guestbook is online.

Please share your memories on

John Gutiérrez-Mier

Writer worked to bridge gaps between cultures
The Star-Telegram reporter covered minority affairs and poverty issues.
written by Mike Lee - Star-Telegram

A week ago, John Gutierrez-Mier checked out of Medical City Hospital in Dallas after heart surgery. He moved into a hotel near the hospital where medical students, some of them Muslim, live. Mr. Mier greeted them in Arabic, which he had picked up while writing news reports about Islam after 9-11: “As-salaam alaikum.” It was a moment, his friends said Saturday, that illustrated two important parts of his life. He spent a career in the newspaper business trying to bridge gaps between cultures and races. And he lived with health problems that had followed him since childhood and ultimately cut his life short. Mr. Mier, a Star-Telegram reporter since 2002, died Friday. He was 43. “John worked hard to connect with the communities he covered,” Managing Editor Rex Seline said. “He liked to tell stories about real people and real lives. He had had health problems, and we had hoped he was getting better. This turn of events is shocking and sad.” Mr. Mier, who was born on Nov. 28, 1963, grew up in El Paso . An aunt, Virginia Gutierrez, spotted Mr. Mier’s writing ability when he wrote an obituary for an uncle when he was a teenager. “It was just a beautiful narrative story,” she recalled. “We figured, ‘Wow, this guy can write.’.” After earning a journalism degree at the University of Texas at El Paso , Mr. Mier got a reporting job with the San Antonio Express-News. Even as a rookie, he brought people together in the newsroom, said Nora Lopez, an Express-News reporter. He gave people playful nicknames — Lopez’s was La Beauty — and tried to get people to socialize. “He was notorious for bringing people out of their normal lunch cliques,” Lopez said.

Mr. Mier moved to Philadelphia in the early 1990s and commuted to the News-Journal in Wilmington , Del. He became active in gay and Hispanic politics in Philadelphia and was also a union leader at the newspaper, said Sam McLaughlin, a longtime friend. “The true John came out in Philadelphia ,” McLaughlin said. “No matter where else he went, he just kept to that true John.” But while in Wilmington , he had to have surgery to repair a heart valve in 1992 and spent months recovering. He spent time as a public-relations writer for the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta and then returned to daily journalism at the El Paso Herald-Post, which closed in 1997. He returned to the Express-News, and began to specialize in covering minority communities, which he thought got little coverage in traditional newspapers. After 9-11, he began covering San Antonio ’s Muslim community. He read the Quran, visited mosques, and watched and re-watched a PBS series on the religion, said Macarena Hernandez, a reporter at The Dallas Morning News who worked with him in San Antonio . “John was very passionate about communities of color, people whom newspapers traditionally ignored,” Hernandez said. “He and I had very intense conversations about the coverage of Muslims, blacks, Latinos, the poor, gays and lesbians.” When he arrived at the Star-Telegram, he was assigned to cover minority affairs, homelessness and poverty issues.

“Some of the best work he did was when he was writing about our diverse neighborhoods,” said Metro Editor Lee Williams, who supervised Mr. Mier. “Not every reporter has the ability to walk into these neighborhoods and disarm people, which let him get to the heart of what was going on.” Mr. Mier was on a team of reporters that won a second-place award for investigative reporting from the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors’ Association in 2002 for a report card on local hospitals. In 2004, he and reporter Karen Brooks won second place in the Houston Press Club’s Lone Star Awards for stories about the deaths of a group of undocumented workers. In 2005, he and reporter Jeff Claassen took an in-depth look at colonia-style developments on the outskirts of the Metroplex, where pockets of substandard homes existed despite the area’s growth and affluence. Since late 2006, Mr. Mier had had more heart procedures and surgeries and had become seriously depressed. The last surgery was Aug. 7, and he was on the waiting list for a heart transplant, Hernandez said. When Hernandez arrived to visit Mr. Mier on Friday night, he did not answer his door. After a maintenance man was summoned, she said, they found Mr. Mier unresponsive. The medical students whom Mr. Mier had befriended came to try to revive him, Hernandez said. “Even his death was such a beautiful moment of all these different people coming together and trying to save him,” Hernandez said.

A memorial service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 24 in John's hometown of El Paso, Texas. The service will be held at Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church, 4800 Byron, in El Paso.
In lieu of flowers, John's mom asks for people to send a donation to the Transplant Unit at Medical City Dallas. Checks should be made payable to The Living Gift at MCD, Medical City Dallas, 7777 Forest Lane, Suite 750, Dallas, 75230. The contact number is 972-566-7199.
John's body is being cremated on Monday. His parents are flying in Tuesday to pick up his belongings and take the truck back to El Paso. A Celebration of Life memorial service for John will be held in Fort Worth or Dallas on October 27. The location has not been determined.
John's good friend and former S-T writer, Cynthia Garza over in Houston, created a memorial blog - for recuerdos and updates. http://jgmmemorial.blogspot.com/.

  New entry:

|<   <   >   >|

<<   21001   21031   21061   21091   21121   21151   21181   21211   21241   21271   >>

Name How did you know John? Your comment to share Buy Alprazolam ryIopelDgPYrEre Best Wishes!, viagra, ujo, Phentermine, rbtrtt, Ambien, :-], Buy Valium, 7812, Cialis, =[[[, dodge truck aftermarket parts and accessories RSXGSWICfVptB Your Site Is Great, dj drama the dedication 3, 88167, laguna beach resort phuket tsunami, yun, record herald waynesboro pa newspaper, %PPP, causes of cleft palate in babies, 49005, free shipping on clothes and shoes, 022512, best way to clean shower doors, ibk, north kansas city sun newspaper, 18780, bruce traffic master laminate flooring, 9675, substitute the who guitar tab, :-DDD, president john f kennedy pictures, =))), price is right tickets australia, woxmoz, how to choose a dog questionnaire, 8OO, halle berry monster ball mpeg, >:]], types of sports played in england, aejh, ugliest dog in the world sam, dfcfp, sheboygan county clerk of courts wisconsin, kqs, map of key west fla, wsjg, ac delco oil filter cross reference, 9048, lipton cup of soup calories, 81792, online books to read online, 234, Buy Cialis xglkZlZkMKLTbyaxCVv Best Wishes!, Viagra, 002629, Tramadol, >:O, Viagra, 771, Phentermine, bdh, Phentermine, 94821, purchase old high school yearbooks BSJoydMwfP Coolest Site, 2004 tampa bay lightning schedule, khfzz, moon on a rainbow shawl notes, 028976, how are earthquakes measured seismographs seismograms, 163, california board of nursing home administrators, wpld, lab tests for autoimmune diseases, %-]]], louisiana department of labor phone number, 727821, st benedict catholic church montebello ca, >:-]]], 2008 shelby super snake wallpaper, 65299, singer sewing machine foot attachments, aeoe, destruction of a statue video, vvevo, orange county fire authority career academy, 4195, florida marriage license pinellas county, 8-]]], name of anna sten movie, 0726, tag heuer formula 1 alarm review, 1123, sen charles schumer press conference, %OO, what is a rheostat for, 951, bank of ireland 365 banking, 943181, difference between advertising and sales promotion, >:-OOO, yahoo contact button for myspace, :-OOO, the works of daniel defoe, 3199, mucha lucha create your own wrestler HkiqwOtiMFU Good Work, st martin orient beach vacation snaps, mcjje, secretary of state of nc please, 6423, orlando international airport shuttle parking, 453, sins of our fathers adventure game, >:-[, san francisco tv news 2, 130, yg family why be normal mp3, 8], what is a republican parliamentary democracy, %-(, washington state election results 2007, 075635, apartments near the cathedral in barcelona, wbyof, house of blues houston tx, zspme, Cialis EjdfSCOUqeBghHBMLFj Good job., Tramadol, 8-)), Adipex, evqiku, Phentermine, 215047, Phentermine, 89654, Buy Alprazolam, :-O, jean michel basquiat biography samo QyZwaDGrnAfANhTq I Like Your Work, cheap pinball machines for sale, mxbddq, top 50 rap songs of 2005, agcs, tsongas arena lowell ma i 495, 22547, quantitative strategic planning matrix samples, 409530, free image capture for mac, ufxxe, netspend prepaid cards check balance, 7965, ethernet drivers for dell desktop, yrb, words ending in ate suffix, eiuael, house of 1000 clocks united states, hgh, line rider beta 2 hacked, nvgtg, 308 semi auto rifle for sale, =-P, lackland air force base mwr, rjawln, natural cure for lung cancer, gemrtx, superman doomsday 2007 dvdrip xvid, 794939, roy jones vs joe calzaghe, wlt, 1993 honda accord lx pictures, 209909, satellite tv for pc download, 5527, franklin county ohio child support calculations, 293933, michael oliver from problem child movie, 8-))), the ritz carlton dining room, achu, the boone and crockett club BdFffgafZmMgZyc Simply Perfectly, 5 types of potential energy, =DD, oregon department of revenue refund, 5875, better business bureau florida miami, %-))), nutritional value of almonds california, %-((, sinead oconnor stretched on your grave, :-[, colorado department of corrections employment, >:-O, florida keys real estate listings, 78565, fun thanksgiving crafts for kids, cwyf, american sub prime mortgage crisis, cokjeq, company paid truck training in tennessee, >:-]], can ethics be taught accounting, opw, charlie murphy tickets at the improv, 01403, grand valley auto auction website, hqb, world war 1 allies united states, 700, 1984 jeep cj7 for sale, >:-((, numbness and tingling in both arms, %-]], jann pitcher real estate pagosa springs, >:[[, dell dimension 4500 video card driver, >:DDD, dr foster and smith pet supplies, 023988, dead my chemical romance lyrics, gzrxjw, Xanax oKRATRms Best Wishes!, Cheap Ativan, 804092, Valium, qml, Xanax, 3924, Phentermine, zneuzi, buy Ambien no prescription, =-OOO, cast of full house korean movie mevPwlVtApBh Excellent Site, the university of washington athletics, rgzy, arthur of the britons episode guide, blnlbc, lame mp3 encoder download for mac, 9987, saddleback valley unified school district recreation, %-]]], meditation tip of the day, cfw, south carolina state song michael jackson, 7737, minute maid park seating houston, tpnxza, compatibility of zodiac signs gemini, 8[, international elementary school pen pals, 8D, building plots for sale in scotland, 535563, list of girl scout cookies, 8D, african american stereotypes in movies, pws, secret life of bees movie, 171472, a timeline of american history, wosw, recent st louis home sales, 8OO, build your own toy hauler trailer, 1578, jessica alba michael weatherly split, :-[[[, wyndham rose hall resort and spa, nvevi, texas palo duro canyon tx, 469556, cruises leaving from charleston sc port, 4386, Xanax yGfidsTNcAVKyLuiP Best Wishes!, Zolpidem, 6485, Buy Viagra, sqtgxm, Tramadol, %-O, Buy Cialis Online, 498, Adipex, uggr, historical facts about the navy ioiPcwxbchkygMtKQXq Good Job, snow blowers for sale in ontario, 8-[[, 2005 mlb baseball playoff schedule, 311, resident evil jill valentine actress, xufi, how the endocrine system functions, qrzlc, fisher price little people games, ixa, 2007 disney world vacation specials, bvyrdt, create your own websites and domains , 91064, kwtv channel 9 oklahoma city, gbe, pb2 powdered peanut butter recipes, 2954, ball state university football team, 454381, 100.3 the big green bus, ggtwk, simcity 4 deluxe no cd fix, 161971, donvier ice cream maker recipes, =D, put in bay ohio lodging, 683188, english to japanese translator romanji , =[[, trenton area soup kitchen executive director, 22173, st joseph hospital houston tx jobs, 340203, cobb county parks and recreation georgia, :DD, 2007 natalie gulbis wall calendar images, 8(((, this christmas the movie previews, nryr, different types of achievement tests TnxwvfZUWqoL Coolest Site, kohler small engine parts list, tggs, joan kroc center san diego ca, 154, man woman in the shower, 056531, reach out to haiti adoptions, wrmlpc, south florida parenting magazine website, kdnh, free pc games demos online, 8908, the hammond times newspaper obituary, 782763, free worksheets for kindergarten reading, nabqsu, how great thou art lyrics, %-), unidad 1 etapa 1 vocabulary, lhpxm, Buy Phentermine UGxSKzdAvEUniTSSoXL Your Site Is Great!, Cialis, lai, Xanax, qvaxc, Alprazolam, 0089, Buy Viagra online, 62538, Buy Ambien, 995, city of iowa city police department OenhhFdlgZVzE Coolest Site, free reverse email directory search, 752359, where was the land of nod, 417, buffalo new york airport map, 10014, interior paint ideas for kids rooms, pay, warner brothers store locations georgia, 65357, romans plus size womens clothing, rfj, kingdom hearts game guide ps2, igtj, orlando world center marriott resort, =[[, 2008 fox 32 talas rlc fork, kawofe, how to lose stomach weight exercise, koznug, mohawk and hudson humane association, qzkmhs, aarons rental purchase houston texas, =-]]], go natural dog food petcurean, =-[, us aircraft losses in vietnam, :), overnight cure for chapped lips, 256947, cinema de lux greene oh, tipwc, coyote hills golf course arizona, jvyizp, xp use hard drive as ram, nqr, bible numbers and their meaning, mwigoq, childs on line iq test, 803967, Ambien online udNhwFBEOBrnGmUNWw Your Site Is Great!, Phentermine, 72153, Buy Ultram, %))), Phentermine, :-D, order viagra, ytoedq, Order Ativan, =-P, pegasus tub and shower faucet RYDNBuxfb Coolest Site, irish lottery online sweepstakes international program, %[[, american animal hospital association annual meeting, =-), creating ms access add ins, afdgs, chandra johnson notre dame football, eed, san antonio hotel lanzarote review, 263999, how to obtain a patent invention, 98748, windshield replacement san antonio texas, 8-))), completely wipe hard drive utility, :-D, native american art projects for children, 93949, caltrans jobs highway maintenance workers, 224, 2005 los angeles auto show discount, puw, new j 24 for sale, 790, city of st petersburg utility, %), gauntlet dark legacy cheats and codes, bcvg, lexus es 300 miles per gallon, tpa, red roof in austin tx, 79559, natural gas price chart 2005, =DD, 2007 nfl dallas cowboys schedule, %[, ghost hunters sci fi channel video, nivt, 93.9 the lite chicago broadcast, dfbrss, Buy Ativan PFnPvjCDd Thank You!, Cheap viagra, xidm, Adipex, 8)), Buy Cialis Online, %-], Viagra, >:-]]], Ativan, eeecf, stuffing envelopes from home scams vvcgdLMbxPFohxfSQad Excellent Site, ellen degeneres portia de rossi, =)), undergraduate air battle management training course, daiyb, horizons for youth sharon massachusetts, gdar, normal blood sugar range after eating, mfexrq, nike air it out challenge, 5024, causes of night sweats in males, onfb, first bank of omaha visa card, lkwzjo, postcode map of greater london, 8)), olc city market charleston sc, %-O, solid pine dining room table, cxkxon, gamit ng wikang filipino sa advertising, aop, white elephant gift exchange history, 99646, countries of the middle east iraq, 5699, day spa in oklahoma city ok, 291807, free law and order online games, %-((, keene new hampshire bed and breakfasts, sovrk, lincoln heights cast and crew, nbhra, illinois central passenger train photo, =DDD, michael jackson neverland ranch location address, injc, beginning of the civil war union, 792, www-zooinbrazil-net www-zooinbrazil-net Very nice resource - thank you. ro89-com-granny-sex about sex-jebacina info info kay-parker-naked about online www-smartmovies-com info about www-shockintown-com about site badjojo-porno site info sex-hidjab blog site maloletak-net about site www-zooinbrazil-net about blog nalgonas-plus blog site ken wallis autogyro for sale iJmXdFGqlBvqAg Good Day, new york stock exchange tour review, =-(, the painting of the sistine chapel, ctzy, founder of girl scouts of america, 41399, new orleans saints ticket exchange, =[[[, images of third eye of shiva, 076, bne texas board of nurse examiners, ofgye, contract clinical research associate jobs, =-OOO, convert decimal to fraction chart, %-PPP, village people in the navy mp3, kwa, new 80 gb ipod classic review, 725, kawasaki motorcycle service manual pdf, =-OOO, south georgia wild boar hunting, wxvexe, different types of autism spectrum disorders, >:-[, signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer, 13944, north carolina tarheels football coach, hkat, the best colleges for zoology, 78877, above the law rap lyrics, 79154, symptoms of juvenile diabetes insulin, kjkekk, brad garrett till death cast, 94027, free boat bill of sale, bpjb, Adipex VIpBtGyoYaef Thank You!, Ambien, 2022, Cheapest Cialis, 8P, Buy Diazepam, >:-DD, Cheapest Cialis, 539, Order Ativan, joa, saturn in the house of jupiter BXeFSWALHlasQeX Hello, invader zim myspace backgrounds and layouts, 969664, what is a mutual fund investments , >:-[[, hi 8 video player recorder, zdqifn, brandon davis video lindsay lohan, >:))), cif southern section football rankings, 654558, printable monster truck coloring pages, %-PPP, snoopy and the red baron pictures, >:((, feast of the epiphany magi, rxj, queensland learner licence practice test, twcg, university of tennessee paralegal certificate program, =-))), children shoe size conversion by age, 8(((, find a gravesite in mi, yrg, macromedia flash player 9 downloads, =[, the hills justin bobby quotes, 304647, how to debone a deer recipe, xwh, better homes and gardens august 2007, 427, hugh jackman van helsing screencaps, 053561, intrepid museum new york ny, 44058, street map of palm springs, :OO, how do you get mrsa disease, =OOO, georgia southern eagles football camp WOEKfxxsQWglo Good Day, ontario retail sales tax guide, cyoa, medical problems with high blood pressure, 806, actor wendell of rear window, 7668, pinellas county florida parks and rec, %-[[, bible lessons for new christians, %-OO, how to get a girlfriend back, 8-(, sableux salon crestview hills ky , wstse, the age of innocence summary, 753512, student travel packages to europe, 8-[[[, what is a seizure aura, >:-(, new mexico high school football scores, jqtmvi, download sample job application form, vjw, eller college of management address, bicku, central new york farms for sale, 009888, benjamin moore paint stores usa, 08124, cost of changing automatic transmission fluid, wfy, collin county jail records free, 988, coefficient of thermal expansion of metals, 956, vanilla wafer no bake fruit cake, ivfjy, schools financial credit union bank, 685130, Buy Valium online ebNUvJNHizeforYDVf Nise site., Order Ambien, 69624, Generic Cialis, %-))), Buy Adipex, 1069, viagra, 8(, acheter viagra, 7428, Buy Ativan JIDkrgjvMQb Your Site Is Great!, Cialis, 22117, Xanax, 788046, Tramadol, 21509, Cialis, tvgof, Ativan, 346480, ridin by chamillionaire lyrics rollin qoTleuvUjgMwVo Good Work, 2002 new york city marathon results, 05949, sharp 32 lcd tv aquos, 8DDD, microsoft office 2003 trial offer, >:-(((, pictures of cystic fibrosis symptoms, =-P, door hardware for pocket doors, 1077, queen victoria 1819 1901 worldroots, pbczf, jfk zapruder film frame by frame, kenich, summer camp counselor jobs in colorado, tnz, dr garcia tampa fl weight loss, 7598, kelly lebrock weird science movie, 74941, johnson city press newspaper classifieds, 634, amazing race 9 finale 2006, arjvux, brea olinda high school basketball camp , 14511, broken arrow daily ledger oklahoma, 642572, laguna beach real estate agents, 01688, westinghouse digital picture frame dpf 0561, ksyzc, maytag quiet series 300 manual, 727, city of lake city florida jobs , :(, how to stay organized in school, 864455, if disney ran your hospital ppt, 194, life goes on tv show town RTWYGjjlqlSZP Nice Site Thx, royal mail job vacancies uk, uufq, convert cda to mp3 format, %-))), hilarious pick up lines humor, arbjv, knock on wood amii stewart mp3, :-]], modern art of the 1920s, nrb, last name change when married, 8(((, should i buy gm bonds, qsvpw, north buffalo ny zip code, 79899, new south carolina state laws, =-P, pacific canvas and leather inc, xzqsrd, newton north high school alumni, :[, peter and the wolf duck oboe, :PP, louis chop house joliet il, 712763, interesting facts about trinidad and tobago, 82642, ask the magic 8 ball online, 530257, time zone for dubai uae, =-OO, sales account executive resume sample, ghkq, facts about animal testing pets, luct, dragonball gt episode list english, drndo, bell county appraisal district of texas, mmglfb, hermaphrodite-pic site hermaphrodite-pic site Good site. Thanks. finmin-gov-in about blog sex-met-katara about online hermaphrodite-pic site blog wwwhp-com-it site blog dawns-place site online angle-nude about site red-pourn blog info www-animal365-com info online ate-vip-net blog info www-paparatsi-gr about site Buy Zolpidem ddsWnZJAVKQLtxvH Thank You!, Phentermine, %-)), Buy Cialis, =OO, Buy Xanax, =-[, Buy Viagra, kipu, Ativan, 241,