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IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Sean
Devlin
August 30, 1935 – April 17, 2024
Obituary
Sean Patrick Devlin, a longtime Racine journalist and Opinion Page editor, passed away on April 17, 2024. He was born in South Chicago on August 30, 1935 to Robert Devlin and Margaret (Beech) Devlin. He moved to South St. Paul, MN at the age of seven and graduated from South St. Paul High School.
He attended the University of Minnesota and served in the US Army Artillery Corp. After his Army tour he returned to the University of Minnesota Journalism School.
His first writing job was with the Beloit Daily News in 1964, followed by a brief stint at the Kankakee (IL) Daily News. He came to Racine in 1966 to be a general assignment reporter and worked his way through several beats mainly covering government for almost 20 years before finally taking the reins of the Opinion Page for the last 12 years of his journalism career, retiring in 1997. For 32 years he endeared himself to readers of The Racine Journal Times.
"Mostly," Sean said, "I was treated gently in my career as editorial writer."
He met Sandra Welch (Devlin) in 1967. Three years later they were married.
Sean said her "patience and love managed to keep us together for 54 years of marriage".
His wordsmithing work was only a means of financing what he calls the "real stuff in life" – canoeing, camping, cross-country skiing, woodworking and travel.
Together he and Sandy shared that joy, traveling far and wide over the years. Both were licensed pilots and flew two light planes, a 1946 Taylorcraft and a 1947 Stinson a few years later. They would fly to distant airports and camp.
Their infectious love for travel and the outdoors drew a "coterie" – as Sean put it - of like-minded friends, journalism co-workers and relatives to what soon became twice-a-year summer and fall campouts at Potawatomi State Park in Door County and Nelson Dewey State Park near Cassville.
Nowhere was Sean more at home than around the campfire, spinning tales and sharing his reasoned opinions on the events of the times, often punctuating or puncturing his reasoning at the very end with, "But on the other hand….". That was usually followed by his short bark of laughter as he enjoyed the confusion he had created.
Good times, indeed.
Together Sean and Sandy traveled the world, Europe being their favorite – "everything below Denmark and west of the Czech Republic", as Sean put it.
After traveling to Alaska on a cruise and Hawaii on a stop-over on the way to Australia, he started thinking about the states they had stayed overnight in on their other travels. That became their Bucket List for the next few years. As of last year they had completed it, having stayed overnight in all 50 states.
Survivors include his wife, Sandy; his brother Tim Devlin (Joyce); his brother-in-law Robert Byers; nieces Lori Evans and Cathy (Jay) Kreamer; nephew Robert Byers, Jr.; his German family, Meike and Andreas Schwarze and their children, Louisa and Jacob.
They also include dogs. "In this family, the dogs count," Sean said. "I fondly remember all the other dogs – 10 of them – and two still living."
He would add to that survivor's list "a large coterie of people I consider friends."
Sean said there will be no ceremonies or funeral service. There will be a yard party at some date in summer where all those friends can gather again, just as they have for years.
He attended the University of Minnesota and served in the US Army Artillery Corp. After his Army tour he returned to the University of Minnesota Journalism School.
His first writing job was with the Beloit Daily News in 1964, followed by a brief stint at the Kankakee (IL) Daily News. He came to Racine in 1966 to be a general assignment reporter and worked his way through several beats mainly covering government for almost 20 years before finally taking the reins of the Opinion Page for the last 12 years of his journalism career, retiring in 1997. For 32 years he endeared himself to readers of The Racine Journal Times.
"Mostly," Sean said, "I was treated gently in my career as editorial writer."
He met Sandra Welch (Devlin) in 1967. Three years later they were married.
Sean said her "patience and love managed to keep us together for 54 years of marriage".
His wordsmithing work was only a means of financing what he calls the "real stuff in life" – canoeing, camping, cross-country skiing, woodworking and travel.
Together he and Sandy shared that joy, traveling far and wide over the years. Both were licensed pilots and flew two light planes, a 1946 Taylorcraft and a 1947 Stinson a few years later. They would fly to distant airports and camp.
Their infectious love for travel and the outdoors drew a "coterie" – as Sean put it - of like-minded friends, journalism co-workers and relatives to what soon became twice-a-year summer and fall campouts at Potawatomi State Park in Door County and Nelson Dewey State Park near Cassville.
Nowhere was Sean more at home than around the campfire, spinning tales and sharing his reasoned opinions on the events of the times, often punctuating or puncturing his reasoning at the very end with, "But on the other hand….". That was usually followed by his short bark of laughter as he enjoyed the confusion he had created.
Good times, indeed.
Together Sean and Sandy traveled the world, Europe being their favorite – "everything below Denmark and west of the Czech Republic", as Sean put it.
After traveling to Alaska on a cruise and Hawaii on a stop-over on the way to Australia, he started thinking about the states they had stayed overnight in on their other travels. That became their Bucket List for the next few years. As of last year they had completed it, having stayed overnight in all 50 states.
Survivors include his wife, Sandy; his brother Tim Devlin (Joyce); his brother-in-law Robert Byers; nieces Lori Evans and Cathy (Jay) Kreamer; nephew Robert Byers, Jr.; his German family, Meike and Andreas Schwarze and their children, Louisa and Jacob.
They also include dogs. "In this family, the dogs count," Sean said. "I fondly remember all the other dogs – 10 of them – and two still living."
He would add to that survivor's list "a large coterie of people I consider friends."
Sean said there will be no ceremonies or funeral service. There will be a yard party at some date in summer where all those friends can gather again, just as they have for years.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Sean Devlin, please visit our flower store.
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