Paula LaRocque, former writing coach for The News and ‘master of the English language,’ dies at 84

Paula LaRocque was entrusted with a big task when she joined astaff skeptical about her hiring as the paper’s first-ever writing coach.

Staff writers weren’t sure a coach was necessary and many had voiced concerns, former colleagues said, but it wasn’t long before LaRocque was touching lives across the newsroom and, later, the world.

“I don’t know what people were expecting — maybe some kind of schoolmarm — and instead they got Paula LaRocque, who was just a complete whirlwind,” said Stuart Wilk, former managing editor of The News. “Vivacious, high-energy, an infectious laugh, an absolute master of the English language and very, very savvy and sophisticated about reporting.”

LaRocque, a writing coach and assistant managing editor at The News for 20 years and an educator who conducted workshops across the world, died Tuesday from injuries suffered in a fall at an assisted-living facility in Arlington. She was 84.

LaRocque worked for The News from 1981 to 2001. Despite the initial skepticism she encountered, she made it a mission to develop personal relationships with colleagues and established herself as an advocate for readers, Wilk said, adding that she earned the trust and admiration of writers by critiquing them with empathy and humor.

“Being able to critique writing is one skill,” he said. “Being able to critique writing and have the personal qualities that leave the writer’s dignity and ego unbruised — that was one of Paula’s special gifts.”

Janie Paleschic, a former editor at The News, said LaRocque joined the paper as a leader when there were few women in the newsroom. LaRocque was luminous, stylish and fun, Paleschic said, adding that her presence set an example for how to manage people and work with others in the newsroom.

“She was a light,” Paleschic said. “She lit up the place with her smile and you could just feel the love coming off of her — her love of words and writing, her love of the newsroom.”

LaRocque’s influence extended far beyond journalism. She was highly sought to conduct classes for lawyers, economists, and business and government groups.

“She had a great demand from people all over the world to do writing workshops, and she traveled extensively to do that,” said her husband, Paul LaRocque of Arlington.

In 1998, LaRocque was elected to the board of directors of the Associated Press Managing Editors Association and three years later won one of its highest honors, the Meritorious Service Award, for her “exemplary contribution to journalism.”

LaRocque spent years in academia before arriving at The News. She taught at Texas A&M University, Southern Methodist University and Texas Christian University. Later, she wrote books on writing and penned fictional novels, including a murder whodunit titled Chalk Line: A Ben Gallagher Mystery.

“She was a go-getter all her life, so she was not one to sit idly by,” Paul LaRocque said. “She always had something to do and a goal to reach.”

LaRocque was born May 12, 1937, and grew up in Gettysburg, Ohio. She earned a master’s degree in English from Western Michigan University in 1972.

She was married twice and had two children from her first marriage — Andrea Berlien, who preceded her in death, and David Berlien of Delton, Mich.

She loved reading and hosting dinner parties, but writing was her primary passion, her husband said. He noted the hundreds of tributes that former News colleagues posted online after her death.

“People just were ecstatic in their claims that she changed their lives in many ways in writing,” he said. “She was just a big help to people at The News, and they really appreciated that.”

Bob Mong, president of the University of North Texas at Dallas and former editor of The News, said LaRocque was an innately clear writer who was “a positive influence in every way I can think of.”

“She was buoyant. Against all odds she would be upbeat,” he said. “She was definitely a glass half-full person, and I think everyone over time really valued that.”

Mong lauded the personable, conversational nature of LaRocque’s coaching style. He recalled the newsletter she’d send to staff that critiqued writers’ work and highlighted their best stories.

Her colleagues learned to both love and hate it, he said, but there was no doubt that they always read it.

“She did all sorts of things that began to call attention to the quality of writing in a way that went beyond what a normal editing process involved,” Mong said. “It sort of coincided with the paper’s ambitions at the time, which was to become one of the best papers in the country.

“Paula was relentlessly on the side of good writing,” he said, “and that was really what she was all about.”

LaRocque is survived by her husband and son.

A private memorial will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Salvation Army.