Sherman D. London Feb. 17, 1922 - May 2, 2024

Sherman David London, award-winning journalist at the Waterbury RepublicanAmerican newspapers, the longest serving member of the state Freedom of Information Commission and a World War II veteran, died Thursday, May 2, 2024. A Southbury resident, he was 102. The cause was heart failure.

Mr. London spent about 40 years working as a reporter, columnist and editor at the Republican-American newspapers in Waterbury. When he retired in 1988, he was editor of the newspapers’ editorial pages.

He was so trusted by the publisher of the newspapers that when coming upon a major late-breaking news story, he could yell, “Stop the presses!” and they would be stopped to remake the front page with his story.

He was a frequent commentator on radio and television. On election nights, he broadcast results on WATR from the newsroom at the Republican-American, hiring dozens of people to bring him local results faster than any other city in the state. He typically could call the winner within less than 15 minutes of the closing of the polls. And this was before cell phones.

After retirement, he worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency as an on-call spokesman, serving at numerous natural disasters through the nation.

Mr. London was a member of the Freedom of Information

Commission from 1996 until 2013 and at that time was the commission’s longest serving member, having heard approximately 1,000 cases during his tenure.

Among numerous awards for his work as a journalist, Mr. London was the 2013 recipient of the Helen M. Loy Freedom of Information Award by the Connecticut Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. In the same year he was honored by the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information, which gave him its Champion of Open Government Award. He won an award from the National Truckers Association for a series of articles and commentaries that helped spur construction of Route 8 as a divided highway.

He was a past president of the state chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and, in 2007, was named to the organization’s Journalism Hall of Fame. He also was past president of Beth El Synagogue and for years was very active in the Jewish community, including helping to create an exhibit at Mattatuck Museum that highlights the history of Jews in the city.

He was awarded for outstanding service to the community by the Greater Waterbury Chamber of Commerce and was granted the Community Service Award by Mattatuck Community College. Mr. London lectured at the University of Hartford and was former

Chair of the Advisory Committee to the state’s Board of Governors for Higher Education, Co-chair of A Community Vision of Waterbury, a member of the Board of Directors of Greater Waterbury Arts Resource Council and a member of the Advisory Committee, Waterbury Branch of the University of Connecticut.

Mr. London was born in Waterbury on February

17, 1922, the son of Harry and Anna G. (Chaimowitz) London and graduated from Crosby High School.

He graduated from Rider College (now Rider University) in New Jersey, where he was a member of Sigma Lamda Phi fraternity. He earned his tuition and spending money by working in the kitchen of a girls’ dormitory, graduating in three years. He was Business Manager of the yearbook, the Shadow.

Shortly after graduation, he was drafted into the U.S. Army in the midst of World War II, advancing to the rank of Technical Sargent. He spent most of the war in Hawaii, awaiting shipment to support the fighting in the Pacific. His unit was never called until the war was over when he was part of the U.S. forces to occupy Japan, stationed in the city of Tsu.

His first job after discharge was as a reporter for a newspaper in Springfield, Mass., but left after less than a year because, he said, he could not earn enough money to support himself. He joined what was then the

Waterbury American.

He married Arlene Dolores Freedman in 1948 and moved into an apartment in Waterbury with his new wife, his father-in-law, the late Max Freedom and Max’s mother, Sophie Freedman.

He is survived by his son, Michael J. London and his wife, Allison B. Spitzer, of Trumbull, their son, Jordan M. Spitzer-London, of Shelton; his son Steven R. London and his wife Paula (Raskin) London of Waban, MA, and their children Andrew London and his wife Shaina and their twins, Sivan and Ari, of Watertown, MA, and Caroline London, of Waltham. Mr. London was predeceased by his brother Melvin and his sister Libbye Kaplan.

The funeral will be held on Monday, May 6, 2024 at 2:00 p.m. at the Waterbury Hebrew Benefit Cemetery, 270 Stillson Road, Waterbury, CT. Shiva will be observed at the London residence in Trumbull, CT, on Monday with a Traditional Minyan at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday with calling hours from 1:30 until 4:30 PM, with a Reform Minyan on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m., and a Traditional Minyan again on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed to the Jewish National Fund, www. jnf.org, 516-678-6800.