DENTON, Texas — Mike Trimble,
an Arkansas-born writer who had a celebrated career as a reporter and editor for six journals in Arkansas and Texas, died Saturday, November 20, at his home in Denton, Texas. He was 78.
Trimble’s career spanned 48 years, starting at the Texarkana Gazette and followed by jobs at the Arkansas Gazette, Arkansas Times, Pine Bluff Commercial, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Denton Record-Chronicle. His remarkable observational skills and down-to-earth writing lent humanity and humor to his writing—whether news, features or columns. He was beloved by fans in Arkansas and admired and respected by other journalists and writers nationwide.
While an editorial writer for the Denton Record-Chronicle, in 2006 Trimble received the award from the American Society of Newspaper Editors for the best editorials in the nation that year. His Arkansas Times article “Memoirs of a Miner” recounting his days on the Bauxite, AR, High School football team, won a national sports writing award in 1985, and the story appeared in that year’s anthology of the Sporting News best sports stories of the year. Other articles recalling his young days at Bauxite were among his most popular. His sister keeps copies on her computer to send in response to a regular stream of requests.
Travis Mac Trimble was born November 3, 1943, to Edgar Mac Trimble and Frances Trim Trimble, schoolteachers who had moved to Arkansas from Louisiana and had settled at Bauxite. His father taught before working for Alcoa and his mother taught English to generations of students – including Trimble and his sister.
After attending the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, Trimble went to work as a reporter for the Texarkana Gazette, then moved to Little Rock and the Arkansas Gazette, where he was as a reporter and columnist.
Trimble later worked for the Arkansas Times and the Pine Bluff Commercial. His boss at Pine Bluff was Jane Ramos, and they later married. Jane and Mike moved to Texas when she was named publisher of the daily Weatherford Democrat and Mike became a copy editor and reporter, city editor and finally editorial writer for the Denton Record-Chronicle. He remained there until the end of his journalistic career.
Trimble’s writing, though cherished by legions of readers, wasn’t always popular with the patriciate. He ruffled feathers in several episodes of reporting. At a dinner at the Little Rock Country Club for a visiting Black leader, he wrote that the only people of color other than the honoree were wearing white coats, the attire of Club waiters. His described the new Dillard Department Stores building in Little Rock as looking like “the ugliest church in Tulsa,” angering a major advertiser.
Trimble was always modest about his achievements. His daughter and grandchildren knew him more as a loving dad and grandpa than as a famous writer. He was his daughter’s helper and chief supporter as she faced the challenges of single motherhood, his granddaughter’s faithful escort at years of father-daughter dances, a loyal fan of his grandson’s sports teams and a combatant in numberless Uno games with both grandchildren.
Trimble is survived by daughter, Erin Trimble Gray of Little Rock; his grandchildren Camryn and Turner; his sister, Pat Patterson, and her husband, Carrick, of Little Rock, his niece, Julia Taylor of Little Rock, her husband Mallory and their daughter, Mary Ruth; his nephew John Patterson of Atlanta, John’s daughter, Josephine, and Meranda Barks of Denton, his friend and helper.
His family extends special affection and gratitude to his caregiver, Catalina Molina.