Ivy Earl McLemore

Notes:

McLemore, Teletype operator for AP with keen eye for detail by Lynwood Abram Houston Chronicle

Ivy Earl McLemore, a Teletype operator, traffic manager and proofreader for the Associated Press for 42 years, died Wednesday in a Jasper convalescent home after a 35-year battle with cancer. He was 84.

In 1968, McLemore was diagnosed with colon cancer. Over the ensuing years, he underwent three operations, but ultimately the cancer spread, said his son Ivy Bernard McLemore of Houston, former executive sports editor of the Houston Post.

An AP official once called Ivy Earl McLemore "the quickest and most accurate Teletype operator the AP had ever come across," his son said.

Although he was never a reporter or editor, McLemore had a keen eye for errors and omissions in news stories, and often helped the reporters improve their writing.

"He didn't write himself, but he knew excellent copy, and he was a great one for factual detail," his son said.

Born in Jasper, McLemore grew up in the family home which dated from 1888.

After graduating from Jasper High School in 1936, McLemore landed a job in the mail room of the Beaumont Enterprise. Shortly thereafter the AP hired him as a Teletype operator and wire clerk.

In 1940 he began working for the AP in Houston, where he served in the AP office in the Houston Chronicle newsroom.

He was there on Dec. 7, 1941, when Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps as an air traffic controller. While stationed in Pampa, McLemore survived the crash of an Air Corps training plane. He later served in France and Italy.

McLemore witnessed the transformation of news writing from manual typewriters to electric typewriters and ultimately to computers.

Beginning in the 1950s, McLemore serviced AP Teletypes in offices of newspapers and radio and TV stations and other clients in the Houston area.

After he retired in 1979, McLemore returned to Jasper, where he lived on and farmed on 12 acres, known as Azalea Forest, growing tomatoes, okra, sugar cane, strawberries and other crops.

A talented gardener, he won prizes and awards at county and state fairs for his tomatoes, his son said.

His former wife, Carmen Albacete McLemore died in 1995.

Besides his son, McLemore is survived by two sisters, Irma Brauninger of Beaumont and Marie Hicks of Jasper; three brothers, John D. McLemore of Kemp, Tommie McLemore of Bartlett, Tenn, and Bobbie McLemore of Jasper.

Visitation will be from 10 am until noon Saturday, McLemore's birthday, at Stringer and Griffin Funeral Home in Jasper. The funeral will be at 2 pm Saturday at Zion Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Jasper.

Ivy married Doris Stewart on 1 Jun 1940 in Jasper County, Texas. Doris was born after 1918; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ivy married Carmen Ines Albacete before 1957. Carmen was born on 17 Jun 1920; died on 10 Feb 1995 in Houston, Harris County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ivy married Living [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Living married Living [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Hobbies: Cooking, needlework, recording

Carmen married Living [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]