The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
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Community icon, former publisher Paul Tull dies
Saline resident was founder of The Saline Reporter and The Milan News-Leader
By Brian Cox, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: July 3, 2008
Paul Tull and his wife, Jackie, founded The Saline Reporter in 1948 and Paul served as its editor and publisher for 47 years. When he first launched the newspaper, he and his young family lived upstairs of the news office for three years before moving into a house they built in Saline.
Almost seven months to the day after losing his wife of 60 years, Paul Tull, the founder of The Saline Reporter and The Milan News, now The Milan News-Leader, died Tuesday afternoon at the age of 91.
"My dad had been ready to move on for quite a while now," said his daughter, Nancy Byers. "Ever since my mom died, he'd been saying he was ready to catch up with her. It's two big losses in a short period of time."
Jackie Tull died from leukemia Dec. 31, 2007.
Paul Tull founded The Saline Reporter in 1948 and served as its editor and publisher for 47 years. When he first launched the newspaper, he and his young family lived upstairs of the publication for three years before moving into a house they built in Saline.
"It was nip and tuck for quite some time," Tull recalled of the venture in an interview earlier this year.
Tull is remembered as an icon of the community he chronicled.
"He was an absolute genius when it came to putting a newspaper together," said Bill Mangold, a former advertising representative and cartoonist for the newspaper who began working with Tull in 1976. "It was amazing how it came together. He was a one-man show for all practical purposes."
"He was a talented, all-around newspaperman," said his former son-in-law, Tom Kirvan, who became the newspaper's editor in 1979. "Paul gave me the opportunity and I learned a lot from him."
"He started a ton of people off at the newspaper," Mangold said. "He was a giant among geniuses and a marvelously nice guy."
Tull retired in 1995 after selling The Saline Reporter and Milan News-Leader to Heritage Newspapers. In 1997, he received the Saline Salutes Lifetime Achievement Award. He served as an advocate for the Foundation for Saline Area Schools and was involved in the creation of the local chapter of Christmas in Action.
The former newsman and World War II veteran died Tuesday afternoon at the Evangelical Home in Saline.
A memorial service is planned for 3 p.m. July 13 at the First United Methodist Church. A celebration of Paul and Jackie Tull's lives will follow at Weller's Carriage House on Michigan Avenue.
According to his wishes, Tull's body was donated to the University of Michigan Medical School for education and research.
He is survived by his sister, Mary; three daughters, Nancy (Walt) Byers, Jody Tull (Rupert) deSalis and Annie Kirvan; and three grandchildren, Callie (Mark) Byers Celichowski, Philip Byers and Jesse Kirvan.
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