In the final pages of his 2010 novel \u201cDeadline Man,\u201d the writer Jon Talton\u2019s main character \u2014 a business columnist at a Seattle daily newspaper \u2014 sits on a bench at 2 a.m. as the newspaper presses roll. He can feel the vibration on the sidewalk, as the immense machines \u201cperform their nightly miracle\u201d and stories wing their way onto waiting newsprint; it\u2019s a moment of deep connection for him, illuminating why he does what he does.<\/p>\n
You can\u2019t read that scene and not think of Talton himself, a proudly self-described newspaperman and novelist, in love with the magic of print and the way that words could capture a city. A fourth-generation son of Phoenix, Arizona, who made Seattle his home in 2007, Talton spent his career telling stories. His long career was dual: in journalism, as a thoughtful, informed business reporter, columnist and editor, writing for The Seattle Times and numerous other publications; and in fiction, as the author of 14 detective novels.<\/p>\n
Talton died on Jan. 28, of organ failure secondary to a longtime history of spinal-cord tumors. He was 69.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a very kind human being,\u201d said his wife of 25 years, Susan Talton, describing a man who loved train travel, music, history (particularly the history of Phoenix, about which he published a book in 2015<\/a>), dry martinis and hosting dinner parties full of lively conversation. Talton grew up in a historic district of Phoenix, raised by his mother and grandmother in a home full of \u201cmusic and books and love,\u201d Susan said. In their downtown Seattle condo, she said, \u201cWe had that same kind of home here.\u201d<\/p>\n Studying history and theater (with a music minor) at Arizona State University, Talton dreamed long ago of being a history professor. During postgraduate study in history at Miami University, his wife said, an adviser told him that he wrote too clearly to be published academically. A journalism career quickly followed, with publications including the Dayton Daily News (where his team was a Pulitzer Prize finalist), Cincinnati Enquirer, Rocky Mountain News, Charlotte Observer and \u2014 closest to his heart \u2014 The Arizona Republic, where he wrote columns for the business section from 2000 to 2007<\/a>.<\/p>\n His work at the Republic \u2014 both loving and critical of his hometown, particularly on issues of development \u2014 was widely read and influential. The mayor of Phoenix, Kate Gallego, posted on X<\/a> on Jan. 30, \u201cJon Talton loved Phoenix \u2014 its history, its people & its promise. He challenged us to live up to that promise & was never timid in letting us know when he thought we got it wrong. We’re a better community because of his voice & his legacy will long endure.\u201d In an outpouring of affection for Talton on the Vintage Phoenix Facebook group<\/a>, one person wrote simply, “He, and the writing he has left behind, will be interwoven with the history of Arizona.”<\/p>\n Arriving in Seattle in 2007, Talton quickly immersed himself in the city. \u201cHe had a big capacity to adopt new communities and learn about them and value what was the best in them,\u201d said Athia Hardt, a longtime friend and former journalist at The Arizona Republic. \u201cHe wasn\u2019t the sort of person who went into a city and didn\u2019t find out what made it tick \u2014 he always was a student of everywhere he went.\u201d<\/p>\n