HARELSON, Hugh

The Arizona Daily Star, Tucson, Arizona January 2, 1998, page B1 Hugh Harelson, versatile Arizona newsman, dies. Hugh Harelson asked questions that made people think. The longtime newsman and former publisherof Arizona Highways magazine wanted to hear what people had to say. 'He was a fine writer and great editor, but his best skill was the ability to listen and bring everyone to the table,' said his wife, Jan Harelson. Harelson died yesterday of cancer. He was 67. His career took him across the state, from newspapers to television, and from the state's top tourism magazine to the administration building at the University of Arizona. He left his mark on Tucson when he fought to save the UA journalism department when it was threatened with closure. 'He did a remarkable job of dealing with people - telling the journalism story,' said Donald Carson, retired UA journalism professor. Harelson knew journalism was in his blood from the time he was a boy. He was sure to pick up the local newspaper in every town he visited on family vacations. His first job was with the Bisbee Daily Review in 1952, shortly after he graduated from the UA with a journalism degree. With his black horn-rimmed glasses and short-sleeved dress shirts, Harelson had the stereotypical look of a journalist, said son Scott Harelson, who followed his father into broadcasting and now does public relations for a Phoenix utility. Harelson, born and raised in Glendale, moved up quickly, landing a sportswriting job at The Arizona Republic in 1956. Then he started the Republic's Tucson bureau - a job he loved, Jan Harelson said. 'He covered everything from the military to sports to murder trials - he had the freedom to enterprise his own stories,' she said. From there he became news editor of the Scottsdale Daily Progress, now part of the East Valley Tribune newspapers. And then he went back to the Republic in 1962, serving as day city editor, sports editor and news editor until 1970. 'We didn't see a lot of him in the evenings, but every night he came home for dinner. Then he would be off working news side,' Scott Harelson said. Harelson's career switched tracks from newspapering to broadcasting. For three years, he worked as news director at KTAR-TV in Phoenix. After that he moved to Tucson, where he lived from 1973 until 1982. He served as director of information services for the Arizona Health Sciences Center and as the UA's director of university information services and executive director of university relations. 'He would walk into a room and make friends with everyone in the room,' said Hal Marshall, a former UA colleague. 'He had that knack.' Then-Gov. Bruce Babbitt recruited Harelson in 1982 to become publisher of Arizona Highways, the state's tourism magazine. It was a position he held until he retired in 1992. Harelson brought the magazine into the 20th century, his son said. 'He took pride in improving the editorial content in (Arizona) Highways,' Scott Harelson said. 'He knew photos sold the magazine. But he always recognized the editorial content should be as strong.' Harelson worked closely with several organizations, including the Arizona Humanities Council, Friends of the Phoenix Public Library, the Arizona chapter of the Nature Conservancy and the Arizonans for Cultural Development board. He also was former president and board member of the UA Alumni Association. The UA honored Harelson twice, once in 1991 with the alumni achievement award and again in 1995 with the Sidney S. Woods alumni service award. He also has been recognized by magazine and graphic arts associations, as well as by the Arizona Office of Tourism. Through it all, he always found time for his passions: family and his cabin in Prescott. 'That cabin became his labor of love,' Scott Harelson said. 'He turned that two-bedroom cabin into an adventure for all of us.' A memorial will be held at 10 a.m. next Friday at Unitarian Universalist Church, 4027 E. Lincoln Drive, Paradise Valley. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to support the UA journalism department. Checks can be made to the University of Arizona Foundation/Hugh Harelson Memorial Fund and sent to the UA Foundation, 1111 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson 85721. In addition to his wife and son, Harelson is survived by another son, Matt of Los Angeles; a granddaughter, Sara; a sister, Nancy Dow of Phoenix; and a brother, Gilbert of San Diego.