Tony Tselentis, a longtime Tucson journalist who shared his talents with the Tucson Citizen for 29 years and later for the Arizona Daily Star, died Jan. 7. He was 95.
He was born Angelo Tselentis in 1925 in Mesa, the only child of Greek immigrants Anthony and Diamando Tselentis.
He served in the Navy during World War II and went to the University of Arizona on the GI Bill. After earning a degree in English with a minor in journalism, Tselentis began working for the Tucson Citizen, then called the Tucson Daily Citizen, in 1950.
In a 2013 memoir for the Journal of Arizona History, a publication of the Arizona Historical Society, “Diamando’s Days: A Memoir of My Greek Immigrant Mother and Me,” Tselentis recalled that he was once embarrassed by his foreign mother, but when he was asked to consider a different name than Tselentis for his Citizen byline, he considered it a slap in the face.
He worked as a sportswriter, a court reporter, city editor, wire editor, assistant managing editor and editorial page editor, eventually rising to the position of editor of the Citizen.
Tselentis retired in 1979. He planned a second career in real estate, but journalism called him back and a few years later he became business editor for the Arizona Daily Star, later joining the copy desk. He retired from the Star but went back as a part-time copy editor while in his 80s.
Tucson area nurses and supporters took part in a vehicle procession and honk-a-thon to raise awareness about staffing issues at local hospitals on Tuesday morning, Jan. 12, 2021. About 40 vehicles took part in the procession which started at the Safeway across the street from Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital before heading up Silverbell Road. Nurses were from the two unionized hospital in the city: St. Mary's and St. Joseph's. (Josh Galemore / Arizona Daily Star)
His daughter, Elizabeth Tselentis, said he was a great family man, even traveling to El Dorado, Kansas, to see his newest great grandchild three years ago. He was active in his church, St. Michael’s and All Angels Episcopal Church.
He kept in touch with his colleagues from the Citizen, often meeting a group for lunch. These included former managing editor George Rosenberg, Ace Bushnell, Clyde Lowery, Ford Burkhart, Tom Duddleston and others.
Duddleston, a former city editor and business editor at the Citizen, remembered Tselentis as “a very polite gentleman as well as a great editor over the years. I thought very highly of Tony.”
“There was no doubt that Tony was one of Tucson’s great editors. He loved the Citizen and helped make it one of the best newspapers anywhere,” said Burkhart, who knew Tselentis at the Citizen in the 1960s.
Peter Sibley, a copy editor for the Star, said, “Tony was funny and considerate. He was always giving me reading recommendations — it seemed like he read a couple of books a week — and his gentle headline phrasings made the paper a pleasure to read.”
Tselentis was preceded in death in 2017 by his wife of 65 years, Katherine. He is survived by their children Kathy Harms, Robert, Elizabeth and Mark, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Photos: Inside the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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It was a rare sight to see all reporters at their desks at one time in the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954. Each reporter "has his own desk and typewriter," according to the original caption. Reporters and their "beats" (specialties) are, left to right, Norman Harrington, federal and Davis-Monthan AFB; Byrd Stanley, general assignment and art columnist; James Cooper, city hall; Bob Stirling, superior courts, Charles Hoffman; county offices; John Riddick, University of Arizona; Clifton Abbot, general assignments; and Jim Hart, legislative and political reporter. Not shown is police reporter Fritz Kessinger, who phones in stores from police headquarters.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Original caption in 1954: "Separated from the newsroom by a half-height partition, the sports staff of the Citizen obtains privacy without losing contact with other functions of the newspaper. In this area (jokingly called the "plan pen" by other members of the staff) is located the Associated Press sports wire, in addition to a sports library." In foreground are sports reporters Bob Agee and George Crowe. Reporter George McLeod is standing next to sports editor Ray McNally. A pneumatic tube (back corner) is used to send stories to the composing room.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Photographer Bernie Sedley, right, prepares a for a fashion photo at the Tucson Citizen in 1954. Sedley was a man for all seasons. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II before working as a photographer. He became photo editor of the Citizen, then editor and publisher of Tucson Weekly. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1961 and county supervisor in 1968. He was founder and former chairman of the South Tucson Housing Authority. A senior apartment complex is named for him. He died in 1972.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Political columnist James Fenimore "Jim" Cooper in the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954. Cooper came to the Citizen in 1951 and wrote on local politics for 14 years. He was born in Manhattan, Kansas. He graduated from Kansas State College in 1939 with a degree in journalism. While in graduate school at Northwestern, he was drafted into the U.S. Army Air Corps and served as a bomber navigator in Europe during World War II. After the war, he worked for United Press wire service in San Francisco and Phoenix before joining the Citizen. In 1964, he studied creative writing at the University of Arizona. He was the assistant director of publications for Tucson Unified School District and wrote a definitive history of TUSD. He died in 1992 at age 75.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Murray Sinclair, Tucson bureau chief for the Associated Press wire service, in the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954. Sinclair, a Canadian, started his career as a reporter at the Toronto Star in 1925. He served briefly as city editor until 1944, when his asthma forced him to move to Tucson. As an AP writer, he covered visits to Tucson of John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Eleanor Roosevelt. He retired from the AP in 1969 and became a columnist for the Arizona Daily Star. Sinclair died of an acute asthma attack in 1984.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Wire editor Tony Tselentis inspects a story coming "lickety-split" (not by today's standards) over one of the Tucson Citizen's Associated Press teletypes in 1954. Three AP machines and two United Press teletypes furnish "up-to-the-minute reports" from all over the world. More than 50 years after this photo was taken, Tselentis was still at work as a part-time copy editor at the Arizona Daily Star.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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A youthful Ace Bushnell at his desk as city editor of the Tucson Citizen in 1954, one of four stints in different roles at the Citizen over four decades. Bushnell enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps right out of prep school and served in World War II. He graduated from Princeton University. His first job was a reporter for the Tucson Citizen in 1948. He left the Citizen to become a special agent for the FBI, then returned to the Citizen. He was editor for several newspapers around the country. He retired at age 80 after serving 23 years as community relations manager for the Pima County Sheriff's Department. He died at age 85 in 2011.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Tucson Citizen librarian Anne Ross prepares photo negatives for filing, assisted by copy boy John Collins at the Tucson Citizen in 1954. The cabinets where Collins is standing are still in use today, now part of the Arizona Daily Star's archives.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Photographer Bernie Sedley, right, shows photos to Betty Milburn in the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Sports reporter George McLeod, who had a thick Boston accent, gazes at the Los Angeles Times in the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954. McLeod rose through the ranks to become editorial page editor at the Citizen. He died in 1975 at age 49. He was inducted into the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame posthumously in 1990.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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William A. Small Jr., son of the publisher of the Tucson Citizen, shown in the newsroom in 1954. Small took over the business from his father and purchased Tucson's other newspaper, the Arizona Daily Star, in 1965. He sold the Star to the Pulitzer family in 1971, then sold the Citizen to Gannett Corp. in 1977. He died in 1994.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Byrd Stanley, reporter, on the phone in the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Lois Nelson, homes editor of the Tucson Citizen, at her desk in 1954. Nelson graduated from Wheaton College. She worked as a writer for Sunset Magazine and as an assistant to Margaret Sanger, president of the International Planned Parenthood Association. She has been listed in "Who's Who Among American Women." She died of cancer in 1981 at age 56.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Tucson Citizen photo lab technician Harry Zabower in 1954. Zabower was involved in an insurance fraud case against fellow Citizen photographer Lew Raizk in Pima County in 1960. Zabower, then 23, plead guilty and received 40 days in jail. He then testified against Raizk, who was convicted.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Reporter Dave Feldman in the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954. Feldman was a graduate of the University of Arizona Journalism School. He worked at the Douglas Dispatch before joining the Citizen in 1952. He became assistant city editor in 1958. He left in 1961 to work for the military newspaper, Stars and Stripes.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Religion editor S.C. "Dusty" Warman at his desk in the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954. Warman began his career in Ohio and West Virginia, then joined the Citizen in 1944 as assistant managing editor. He was managing editor in 1947-48. He and one other reporter prepared the Citizen's last "extra" edition announcing the end of World War II. He was religion editor for 21 years until retirement in 1974. He died a year later.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Photographer Bill Hopkins, left, with Bill Collins in the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954. Before joining the Citizen, Hopkins owned a photo studio in Tucson. His father sold photographic equipment. He retired in 1977 after 24 years as a news photographer. He died in 1988.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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William A. Small, right, editor and publisher of the Tucson Citizen, with his son, William A. Small, Jr., in the publisher's office of the Tucson Citizen in downtown Tucson in 1954. William A. Small, Jr., assumed control of the newspaper upon his father's retirement in 1965.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Original caption in 1954: "A visitor's first view of the Citizen offices is an impressive one – a colorful and spacious reception room furnished in Southwestern style with Mexican armchairs and a soft covered in brick-colored leather. White two women wait for their appointment, Citizen reporter S.C. Warman obtains a bit of information from receptionist Jessie Parker, seated behind the huge curved desk which contains files on many subjects."
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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The original caption from 1954 reads: "Decorated in gray and white, with accents of terra cotta color, the Woman's View of the Citizen is a pleasant spot removed from the hubbub of the newsroom. Here, Marcia Dabel and Mary Gerdan assist Woman's View editor Betty Milburn in putting together news of Tucson's clubs, social events, food and fashions. Shuttered French doors give access to a balcony overlooking Stone Avenue. The floor is carpeted and chairs for visitors are laced with rattan as an extra note of style and comfort."
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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The "universal desk," where each issue of the Tucson Citizen was put together in final form. At left, managing editor George Rosenberg, discussing a photograph with city editor Ace Bushnell, foreground right. In "slot" at center, with back to camera, is news editor Bob Campbell, who determines the position of all news on inside pages of the newspaper. Also working are wire editor Tony Tselentis, copy reader Art Kuehlthau, rewrite reporter Micheline Keating, copy reader Clyde Lowery and rewrite reporter Dave Feldman. Rewrite reporters take stories over the phone from other beat reporters. Copy readers (now copy editors) edit stories and write headlines.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Paul McKalip, editorial page editor, glances through a newspaper in the expanded Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954. (McKalip rose to the Citizen's editor in 1966-1983, when he retired.) Newspapers from around the country arrived each day by mail. In the absence of the Internet, it was the only way to get detailed information about news in other cities. The familiar Arizona Republic and El Paso Times hang lower right. The other newspapers have ceased to exist: The Phoenix Gazette, El Paso Herald-Post, Chicago Daily News, and Cleveland Press.
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Original caption from 1954: "Another miracle of modern electronics – one of many used in producing today's newspaper – is the Associated Press Wirephoto receiver, a suitcase-size box which can provide a photograph from any point in this country in only eight minutes. Sensitive photographic paper is mounted on a rotating cylinder within the machine, and the picture impression is made by electrical impulse transmitted by a similar set thousands of miles away. Lab technician Harry Zabower is in charge."
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Original caption from 1954: "Photographer Bill Vaughn (one of three staff photographers at the Tucson Citizen) uses this one of five available darkrooms to make an enlarged print from the negative, blowing up the picture to the size in which it will appear in the newspaper. Photos can be developed and printed within minutes for immediate reproduction."
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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Original caption in 1954: "In the Citizen's photo drying room, the Fairchild Scan-A-Graver buzzes day and night, making plastic photoengravings from glossy prints. An electrically heated needle burns onto a sheet of pliable plastic the impressions transferred from a photograph, which is mounted on a companion cylinder turning under the watchful eye of a photo-electric cell. Lab technician Dick Casey (foreground) mounts a sheet of plastic, while photographer Bill Hopkins examines prints."
Tucson Citizen newsroom, 1954
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City editor Ace Bushnell, smiles over the shoulder of reporter Bob Campbell in the Tucson Citizen newsroom in 1954.
