Veteran business journalist and longtime TWICE contributor Brent Felgner died from cancer here on Oct. 26 in his father’s home, to which he and his wife had relocated earlier this year.
Felgner contributed to TWICE’s retail coverage, edited articles and designed page layouts for various projects over the years, including the TWICE CES Daily.
He is survived by his wife, Desiree Nunez, who has been TWICE’s chief graphic designer for the past 12 years. A former art director at TWICE’s sister publication Home Textiles Today, where the couple met, Nunez and Felgner went on to form their own graphic, design and editorial services company, Gotham Media Works.
A journalist with broad interests, Felgner also contributed as a writer and an editor to several other publications owned by TWICE parent company Reed Business Information. These include, Home Textiles Today, Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News, Playthings and Gifts & Decorative Accessories.
His work for Playthings, covering an epochal shift in the New York toy industry, earned the magazine a Neal Award, the trade publishing industry’s highest journalism prize.
Before beginning his journalism career, Felgner spent time helping to run an early campaign for current New York Senator Chuck Schumer.
He went on to work as a reporter for the Bergen Record in New Jersey, then worked as a reporter for a New Jersey radio station.
He entered trade journalism as senior editor of Discount Store News (now Retailing Today) and later became editor of Tobacco & Candy News.
“Brent was a consummate professional who excelled at every aspect of journalism,” said John Laposky, TWICE’s managing editor. “He was a much needed jack-of-all-trades, and his contributions and expertise will be missed greatly. The man was a walking encyclopedia of retail and had a voracious appetite for both news and technology.”
Besides his wife Desi, he is survived by his father, Hans, and son, Scott.
There will be no formal services in Florida. Later this year, the family will organize a memorial service in New York for friends and colleagues.
Anyone wishing to commemorate his life is asked to donate to the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the non-profit arm of the Society of Professional Journalists. Checks should be made out to “Sigma Delta Chi Foundation” and sent to: Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, Eugene S. Pulliam National Journalism Center, 3909 N Meridian St., Indianapolis, IN 46208.
If possible, include a small note or notation on the memo line of the check to read: “In Memory of Brent Felgner.”
