CHEYENNE (WNE) — Lifelong journalist Jim Angell died Wednesday, Aug. 17, at Davis Hospice Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  He was 64. 

Born in Spokane, Washington, on May 29, 1958, he was raised by his parents, Carol and Darrel Dean Angell, wheat farmers in Walla Walla, Washington. He graduated from Walla Walla High School in 1976 and earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from Washington State University in 1981.   

Angell worked as a reporter at the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Washington, for several years before moving to Cheyenne in 1985 to take a job with The Associated Press, where he worked until 1998. 

He began dating Mary Shannon, then a reporter for the Wyoming Eagle, during the 1989 Wyoming legislative session, and the two were married on May 5, 1990.  Their daughter Amanda was born in 1997.  

Angell became the executive director of the Wyoming Press Association in 1998.  A stalwart champion of government transparency, he lobbied the Legislature to ensure open government and educated reporters and elected officials on Wyoming’s open meetings and public records law. In 2019, he received from the WPA the Milton Chilcott Award for his “extraordinary efforts to defend access to public information.”

As WPA director, Angell planned conventions for the state’s newspaper people.  He not only scheduled workshops and social functions but also wrapped up each convention by leading a jam session with his fellow journalists, encouraging everyone to sing along until late into the night.

In 2017, the Angells formed the Wyoming News Exchange, a cooperative service for the state’s newspapers that continues today.  

Following his retirement from the WPA in 2018, Angell helped to found the Cowboy State Daily, an online news source, in 2019 and worked as its managing editor until his illness.  

He was preceded in death by his parents and by Jeff “Kong” Shields of Walla Walla, Washington, a close family friend whom Angell considered a brother. He is survived by his wife and daughter.

Arrangements for a celebration of life will be held in Cheyenne the first part of November. When finalized, details will be posted on schradercares.com. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Wyoming Press Association Foundation at 2121 Evans Ave., Cheyenne, WY 82001.