Christian Godwin, 49

DOVER - Christian Godwin, 49, a fourth-generation newspaperman and copy editor on the Delaware State News, died September 12, at Hospice of Queen Anne's in Centreville, Md., after a five-month battle with metastatic cancer. He commuted from Delaware City to the State News for many years, and moved to Dover last year. The son, grandson and great-grandson of daily newspaper editors in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Anchorage, Alaska, he began his career at age 14 in Alaska, as a copyboy for the Associated Press Chief of Bureau while still a student at East Anchorage High School. He attended the University of Alaska-Anchorage, became a reporter, and later a copy editor on The Anchorage Times. He said one of the best moments of his career was when his managing editor, a veteran newsman, called Chris the best copy editor he had ever seen. In the 1970s, while still on The Times, Chris was the baseball stadium announcer for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, one of the National Baseball Congress teams then made up of college players from schools across the nation. Knowing the players, many of whom became Major League stars and Hall of Fame members, was one of the bonuses, especially because the pay was almost non-existent, he said. In the 1980s, he moved to Chestertown, Md., and attended Washington College for several years, before joining the staff of the Delaware State News in Dover. After a year-long bout recovering from Guillain-Barre syndrome at Delaware's Christiana Hospital, and a brief return to the State News, he had the opportunity to attend the state's flagship alcohol rehab program in Delaware City. He "graduated" after a year, and remained committed to, and proud to be a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, and grateful to the State for providing the program. Known for his wry sense of humor, his depth of knowledge in many subjects, particularly sports and history, Chris was an old-fashioned grammarian. He helped younger news staffers understand the rules of grammar, helped them to write clear, concise sentences, and hoped that they, too, would learn to love words and linguistics as much as he did. Chris loved the news business. He couldn't imagine working anywhere else, he said. "Long days and fighting to make deadlines, particularly when big stories break two minutes before press time, can be crazy, scary and stressful. But when the presses roll and I have that first edition in my hands, I know it was all worth it,' he said. "I forget how hard we worked. It's then that I feel like I was paid to play. But maybe we shouldn't tell the boss that," he said with a wink. A prodigious reader, a music lover, a puzzle whiz, he carried on interesting correspondences with some of his favorite writers, including one with Catch 22's author Joseph Heller. Heller's 1986 account, No Laughing Matter, of his year spent, like Chris's, recovering from Guillain-Barre's paralysis, began a lively exchange that continued until the author died in December, 1999. Chris is survived by his parents, Stuart and Connie Godwin of Chestertown, Md., both of whom started as copyboys on Washington, D.C., papers; his brother Mark, now a lawyer, but a former copy editor and columnist in Anchorage; and his sister, Mary-Stuart Godwin O'Connor, now a teacher, who wrote sports stories for The Anchorage Times when she was in high school. Both live in DesMoines, Iowa. In addition, he has two nieces, Jessica Godwin Schroeder and Chloe O'Connor, both of DesMoines, and a nephew, Adam Godwin, of Dalian, China. A celebration of Chris's life is scheduled for 2 p.m., Oct. 12, at Fellows, Helfenbein, and Newnam Funeral Home in Chestertown, Md. His first cousin, the Rev. Caroline Keeney Meyers, of Amherst, Mass., will conduct the service before a reception for all family and friends attending. The family suggests those wishing to honor Chris send memorial contributions to the Hospice of Queen Anne's, 255 Comet Drive, Centreville, MD 21617. Arrangements by Fellows, Helfenbein, and Newnam Funeral Home Chestertown. www.fhnfuneralhome.com.