A prominent journalist and ISU alumnus passed away Nov. 21 during Thanksgiving break from a heart attack.

Hugh Sidey graduated from Iowa State with a degree in journalism, worked at Life magazine and joined Time magazine in 1957. He is best known for covering the U.S. presidency, beginning with Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Sidey followed President John F. Kennedy to the Vienna Summit with Nikita Khrushchev and was traveling with Kennedy when he was assassinated in Dallas.

He was on board when Richard Nixon jetted into China in 1972, and reported on Nixon’s exit from Washington two years later. Sidey later journeyed to Vladivostok with Gerald Ford and was the only reporter George Bush allowed on the plane when he left Washington in 1993, according to his biography on the Time magazine Web site.

Eric Abbott, professor of journalism and mass communication, said former president Gerald Ford respected Sidey so much that he asked him to write his obituary.

Abbott said Sidey’s work was a model for many people interested in journalism. The fact that he won respect from both Republican and Democratic presidents showed how objective he was.

“We were so fortunate to have this great journalist come back to his alma mater in April for our student award ceremonies,” said Michael Bugeja, professor and director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication. “He just mesmerized the audience.”

Sidey was the first recipient of the Schwartz award, the highest honor Iowa State bestows in journalism and mass communication.

Bugeja reminisced about several stories from Sidey’s speech, including an interview Sidey had with John F. Kennedy while he was in his swimming pool and an interview he had with Lyndon B. Johnson while he stroked a bust of himself on Air Force One.

Sidey’s writing made readers see how human the presidents were, making it a priority to attend all occasions he wrote about, he said.

He had authenticity in the engagement that he had with the people and events he wrote about, which writers of today have not yet mastered, Bugeja said.

He said he remembered a significant statement made by Sidey:

“If they didn’t have zeal, they shouldn’t be in journalism.”

Sidey leaves a unique impression in the journalism world.

“His life was a blessing to all of us,” Bugeja said.

Sidey was 78.