Marvin Weinstein’s story can’t be instructed with out the phrase “curmudgeon” or rough-and-tumble journey.
Mr. Weinstein, a Morton Grove resident who was a reporter and replica editor for the Sun-Times for 38 years, died Nov. 12 at 82.
Despite being born and raised in Chicago, he didn’t miss his probability to get out and see the world. Mr. Weinstein visited greater than 80 nations, usually writing items for the Sun-Times journey part.
His spouse, Virginia Van Vynckt, was a options copy desk chief on the Sun-Times and technically her husband’s boss earlier than they obtained collectively.
“My brother said ‘You either have to fire him or marry him,’” Van Vynckt mentioned. “So I married him.”
When Mr. Weinstein and Van Vynckt started a relationship, she sneaked the information into an announcement from the copy desk — to the shock of some coworkers. They have been married in 1986 and adopted two youngsters, Lian and Daniel Weinstein.
In his travels, Mr. Weinstein was particularly drawn to Nepal, India and Turkey, the place he was a fan of the meals, Van Vynckt mentioned. Although he was an “adventurous eater,” he was additionally a sucker for the classics.
“I always joked that he married me because I could make lasagna from scratch,” Van Vynckt mentioned.
Marvin Weinstein, a former Sun-Times reporter and replica editor, on a go to to Rhodes within the 1960s. Provided
Luxurious journey and fancy resorts weren’t for him, in accordance with his spouse. He hiked and biked his means world wide, preferring to take care of the inconveniences of “down and dirty” journey.
Once, whereas in India, Mr. Weinstein was sleeping on a practice when bandits got here in by the roof and robbed him and different vacationers, Van Vynckt mentioned. She mentioned the tour company later known as Mr. Weinstein to let him know bookings elevated after that as a result of folks have been drawn to that sort of journey.
Even although he could have been pick-pocketed a few times, he picked up some methods to maintain his belongings protected throughout journey, which he shared in a 1993 column, “Don’t let a camera thief unravel your travel fun.”
Despite “occasionally driving the bosses crazy” within the newsroom, Mr. Weinstein is remembered as a detail-oriented editor with a “grouchy sense of humor.”
He represented a “different generation” of reporters, in accordance with Lloyd Sachs, who labored on the Sun-Times for 24 years.
The strategy to describe Mr. Weinstein in a single phrase appears to be “curmudgeon” — it was affectionately utilized by each individual interviewed for this story.
“If you had to stick a word on him, curmudgeon would work just fine,” Sachs mentioned.
Weinstein was described by his spouse because the “features curmudgeon.”
Marvin Weinstein mountain climbing in Nepal in 1976. Provided
Henry Kisor, who wrote literary evaluations for the Sun-Times for 28 years, known as him a “curmudgeon with the heart of a marshmallow” in an electronic mail to the Sun-Times.
He actually earned his title because the workplace curmudgeon, however Weinstein had a comfortable aspect few obtained to know. He cherished musicals, particularly “The Sound of Music.”
One night time, when Weinstein was the one night time editor, the horoscopes weren’t despatched in to be printed. Weinstein made an govt determination and printed the identical horoscopes from a number of days earlier with solely minor edits. Van Vynckt mentioned nobody observed.
“Marv, being a practical guy, figured they’re all the same anyway,” she wrote to the Sun-Times.
Lynn Voedisch labored on the Sun-Times for 17 years and sat subsequent to Weinstein for round 10 years. They usually commented on the boats passing by on the river exterior or how disgusting the water was. She remembered Weinstein poking enjoyable at her when a coworker repeatedly requested her to go to the opera with him, despite the fact that she wasn’t .
“There’s Marvin, laughing his ass off,” she mentioned whereas telling the story.
Mr. Weinstein left sufficient of a mark on Kisor…