University of Virginia Library

Fred Heblich

Early yesterday morning a car wreck
ended the life of a young man who in so
many ways exemplified the best his generation
had to offer. Fred T. Heblich, Jr. was a close
friend of ours and the manner of his death,
attempting to save the life of an animal which
had strayed onto the highway, tells much
about him.

Up until last Thursday he was the
Managing Editor of The Cavalier Daily. Then
a new staff took over and Fred decided to
leave early for a well-deserved Florida
vacation. He was to receive the Henry Nobel
Taylor Memorial Award on May 1, the highest
award the staff of The Cavalier Daily can give
to one of its own. But no award can even
begin to indicate the very real contributions
Fred made to the newspaper during the three
years he spent in the fifth floor of Newcomb
Hall.

As Managing Editor of The Cavalier Daily,
Fred was directly responsible for the content
of the News, Features, and Sports pages of
the newspaper. He worked very well with the
staff members whose work he directed,
encouraging their work, chastising them for
faulty grammar or unclear writing, and
making sure their coverage of events about
the Grounds was fair and complete Much of
the credit for the achievements of The
Cavalier Daily over the past year can be
attributed to Fred Heblich.

As a journalist Fred sought after only one
thing: the truth. He would get angry with
administrators, deans and even the President
if he thought they were concealing that truth.
He was just as hard on his own reporters if he
felt they did not pursue the truth with
enough ardor.

We will miss Fred deeply. On the most
gloomy days his smiling face always
brightened up the office. Even though he is
gone we will always be expecting him to come
through the office door any minute, bringing
his cheer with him.

He had a bright future ahead of him. An
excellent student, Fred was planning to go
onto law school after doing his obligatory
military service. Although he hated the war,
the draft and other manifestations of the
American police state, Fred was too good an
American to illegally avoid serving in the
armed forces. He would have gone if called.
Now that call will never come.

We were to put out a joke issue of the
newspaper today, our annual April Fool's
Edition. But this is no time for levity; Fred
Heblich is dead.