Journalist Herb Boldt Dies At 84

DETROIT (AP) -  After decades as a reporter and editor at The Detroit News, Herb Boldt found a new office: Michigan's outdoors.

Boldt, a hunter and fisherman, wrote "Woods & Water," a column distributed for 18 years to member newspapers of The Associated Press in Michigan. He had Alzheimer's disease and died on Nov. 22 at age 84, according to an obituary posted online by the Martenson Family of Funeral Homes in Allen Park.

Boldt, a Cleveland native, spent 38 years at the News, half of that time as the police reporter. He also was an editor on the city desk and executive sports editor.    "A guy with ink in his veins - that was Herb," said Mike O'Hara, a former News sports writer.

After retiring from the News in 1987, Boldt began writing a weekly column for the Michigan AP on his experiences outdoors, especially in northern Michigan. He lived in East Tawas and Livonia.

In his final column in 2005, Boldt called it the "greatest job in journalism - a mix of writing and the great outdoors. I was getting paid to fish and hunt the great outdoor state of Michigan."    Charles Hill, bureau chief for the AP in Michigan, said Boldt's work was popular.

"He used his outdoors knowledge and considerable journalistic skills to provide entertaining stories and solid information for people to use on their own hunting and fishing trips," Hill said. "Even if you couldn't get out to the lake or to the woods that week, you knew that Herb and his storytelling writing style could take you there."

A memorial Mass is scheduled for Saturday at Resurrection Roman Catholic Church in Wayne County's Canton Township.

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