Lily Pagratis Venson (October 24, 1924 – June 27, 2011) was an American

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and was a resident of Chicago her entire life. She attended

Wilbur Wright College Wilbur Wright College, formerly known as Wright Junior College, is a public community college in Chicago. Part of the City Colleges of Chicago system, it offers two-year associate's degrees, as well as occupational training in IT, manufacturing, ...

and

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

. She began writing for

Lerner Newspapers Lerner Newspapers was a chain of weekly newspapers. Founded by Leo Lerner, the chain was an important contributor to community journalism in Chicago from 1926 to 2005 and called itself "the world's largest newspaper group". In its heyday, Lerner ...

at the Rogers Park office in 1962 and was an award-winning journalist and feature writer for the Lerner newspapers. She left the paper in 1973 to work as head of public relations for Cook County Hospitals. During her years at Lerner, she received numerous press awards including a nomination for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

by Columbia University and the City of New York, for a series of more than 100 articles she wrote on the crusade to preserve 100 acres of private golf land to create Lawrence C. Warren State Park in West Rogers Park in Chicago. For her coverage of this landmark event she was awarded a plaque of recognition in 1972 by Gov. of Illinois

Richard Ogilvie Richard Buell Ogilvie (February 22, 1923 – May 10, 1988) was an American attorney and law enforcement officer who served as the 35th governor of Illinois from 1969 to 1973. A wounded combat veteran of World War II, he became known as the ma ...

. Among her other stories of note, she covered the immigration battle in Chicago of Walter Polovchak. She also covered in person the last march of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama on March 21, 1965. She was a member of Illinois Women's Press Association. The majority of her journalism articles and photos which covered many historical events in Chicago are housed at the

Newberry Library The Newberry Library is an independent research library, specializing in the humanities. It is located in Chicago, Illinois, and has been free and open to the public since 1887. The Newberry's mission is to foster a deeper understanding of our wo ...

in Chicago for archival deposit.

Family

She was married to George Venson (1910–1998) and had two children, Virginia and Petros.

References

External links

Lily Pagratis Venson Papers
a
the Newberry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Venson, Lily 1924 births 2011 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American women journalists Columbia College Chicago alumni Wilbur Wright College alumni