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DAVE HOPE A natural newsman |
Tribune's Dave Hope Is Dead
Tribune political writer Dave Hope died today of an apparent heart attack a short time after he collapsed at his desk in the city room. He was 65.
Mr. Hope was stricken as he was preparing to write a story for The Tribune home edition.
A scrappy little man with an acid wit and a ready grin, he earned a national reputation for deflating self-important politicians during his 32 years at The Tribune.
He covered most of the major state, regional and national political stories for the newspaper.
To his friends in and out of politics and the newspaper business, Mr. Hope's trademark was his tenacity. He never gave up on a story and rarely on a political argument.
He was quick and accurate, a natural newspaperman who could dictate a finished story from a telephone booth, reading notes scrawled on the back of an envelope.
He was quick to criticize, especially an oldtimer who made a mistake, but he would just as readily encourage a young man or accept criticism of his own work.
Shortly after Mr. Hope's death, William F. Knowland, President and Publisher of The Tribune, said, "Dave Hope was one of the outstanding political writers in California and in the nation.
"For over 32 years he was a dedicated Tribune newsman who commanded the respect of his colleagues and a great host of political figures who knew him.
"In addition to losing a newspaper associate, I have lost a good personal friend and adviser," Knowland said. There is a legend at The Tribune, that when Knowland's late father, former Publisher Joseph R. Knowland, wanted to know something about state or national politics, he didn't call the governor or the President.
He would pick up his phone and say, "Get me Dave Hope."
Last summer in Miami, as he left the convention hall after accepting the GOP nomination, Richard M. Nixon saw someone he knew in the crowd. He stopped, changed direction, pushed through the crowd and police and seized the man's hand.
"Hello, Dave," he said. Although he wrote literally millions of words during his 50-year career as a newsman, English was not his native language.
Born David Bertil Hope in Sweden in 1903, he was brought by his parents as a child to Livermore, where he attended local schools and eventually worked for the Livermore Herald.
He was graduated from Livermore High School in 1919. In the next 18 years, before joining The Tribune in 1937, he worked on the Herald, the Livermore Journal, the San Francisco Examiner and Hearst's old morning Oakland Times.
In his early years at The Tribune, Mr. Hope covered suburban beats in Livermore, Pleasanton, Hayward and San Leandro.
Later he covered the Oakland City Council and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, and handled every local political campaign since 1947.
From 1947 to 1954 he wrote the Daily Knave column. He was an inveterate sports fan. He could quote the names of virtually every boxer who ever fought or baseball star who every played in Oakland - and he would with little prompting.
In his own autobiographical sketch for The Tribune library, Mr. Hope listed as his most important stories the 20 years of planning for a new Bay crossing and the initial phases of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Project, including the first report and the 1962 bond issue campaign.
But the hundreds of politicians and newsmen whose careers he touched have different memories of different stories, some significant and some not so earthshaking.
All the stories were important to Mr. Hope. He approached each with the zeal and enthusiasm usually reserved for younger men. Those in the city room were stunned by his death.
One young man said quietly: "I thought Dave was indestructible."
Another, older man shook his head. "If I have that much sand when I'm 65 . . ." His voice trailed off.
Mr. Hope is survived by his widow, the former Flora Edna DePaoli; his mother, Mrs. Anna Hope of Livermore; two daughters, Mrs. Paul R. Nussbaum of Milbrae and Mrs. David R. Hedeman of San Francisco; a sister, Mrs. Edward Sunoskie of Livermore; a brother, James P. Hope of San Leandro, and four grandchildren.
He was active in Masonic affairs, and was a past master of Mosaic Lodge No. 218, F & AM, Livermore. He was a member of the Oakland Scottish Rite Bodies, Aahmes Temple of the Shrine and the parish of St. Christopher's Episcopal Church in San Lorenzo, where he lived at 15749 Via Arroyo.
Funeral services are pending.
We Knew Him as 'Dave'
His full name was David Bertil Hope. But to several generations of California political leaders, editors, reporters and copyboys, The Tribune's able political writer was known simply as "Dave."His death the other day at 65 leaves a vacancy in the ranks of California journalism that can never be adequately filled. During his more than 45 years in journalism, 32 of them at The Tribune, Dave Hope earned the respect of his colleagues as a talented professional and their warm affection as a friend.
While he was always ready to help a youthful colleague with a tip on how to handle a story or a personal problem, Dave Hope was a perfectionist in his craft. He refused to compromise with those who were indifferent to what he felt were the minimum demands of a "pro" - the newsman's constant striving for excellence.
And as many a chastened co-worker knew from experience, Dave Hope was never bashful about declaring his impatience with sloppy work. But the criticism he offered was always the constructive commentary of one with a fierce devotion to journalism and to his own high standards. He had an equally unabashed faith in the political system he wrote about and never hesitated to say so, whether in a newsroom bull session or in private conversations with the famous political figures he knew.
Many ambitious political aspirants sought his counsel when assessing their prospects. They could always count on a blunt appraisal of their chances, whether it was encouraging or not.
Although he had suffered from a heart condition a number of years, Dave Hope never seriously considered retirement. When he was fatally stricken, he was at his desk, planning a story for the next edition.
Those of us who knew his zest for his life's work are confident that Dave
would have wanted it that way.
See also Oakland's Forgotten Creeks - Oakland Tribune - Jan - Feb, 1947
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