Widow of longtime Mineral County journalist McCloskey dies at 85

Tuesday, March 27, 2001 | 10:30 a.m.

Hawthorne civic leader Pauline McCloskey, the widow of pioneering Nevada newspaperman Jack McCloskey, died Saturday at Mount Grant Hospital in Hawthorne following a lengthy illness. She was 85.

McCloskey and her husband, the longtime editor of the Mineral County Independent News and a member of the Nevada Newspaper Hall of Fame, were founding members of several Hawthorne groups including the Lions/Lioness Clubs, Walker Lake Golf Association and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Altar Society.

Services will be 11 a.m. Friday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Hawthorne. Gunter's Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

Born Pauline Thompson on May 17, 1915, in Los Moches, Mexico, she was one of eight children of mining engineer Alfred Thompson of New Jersey and the former Pauline Apodaca of Spain. She came to the United States at age 3 months, first living in Luning then in Hawthorne.

McCloskey played basketball at Mineral County High School, attended UNR and taught school in Eureka and Hawthorne, before marrying Jake McCloskey in 1939. They were married 61 years. He died last October.

McCloskey was an avid golfer, winning the Walker Lake Golf Association club title and other tournaments. She played tennis, traveled and enjoyed gardening. She also was a Brownie and Girl Scout leader, was active in the Parents and Teachers Association and was a devoted fan of the Mineral County High School girls basketball team.

McCloskey is survived by two daughters, Joan "Joanie" Gazaway of Hawthorne and Jean Abel of Reno; five sisters, Alicia Kalember and Eola Lanning of Hawthorne, Ellen Jamison of Salt Lake City, Lucille Simoni of Upland, Calif. and Louise Smith of Incline Village; and two grandchildren, Jennifer Cole of Reno and John Patrick "Bud" Gazaway of Hawthorne.