David Mathew

David Mathew was a good friend and among the very top tier of filing editors in Reuters. Even in retirement in Sarasota, Florida, he implacably tracked factual and grammatical errors in the local newspapers and TV. (Allan Barker summed up his abilities admirably, and I fully agree with Colin McIntyre on what David would have thought about today’s “karaoke filing”.)

David’s memory was unbelievable. We vividly remember him playing trivia (the Canadian version) when he was on a desk assignment in New York - and, of course, he knew all the answers, no matter how obscure.

I, for one, will miss our frequent phone and email exchanges, and occasional dinners, critiquing news reports and the increasing disregard of the need for strong and impartial reporting and editing.

His death was a real shock to us. My wife Barbara and I spent a couple of days with David and Hilda at their Palm Beach holiday retreat a few weeks ago and we had talked and exchanged emails since - the last occasion just a couple of days before he died.

He was in good spirits and there was no indication of any problems. His biggest concern was always and overwhelmingly Hilda’s health.

Friends and colleagues have paid wonderful tribute to David, and I echo their sentiments. We’ll miss him. ■