Appreciation: Robert G. McGruder, 1942 - 2002

With calm strength and courage. With that dry sense of humor. With a deep inner peace that came from knowing he'd done his best, in work, in life, in everything.

Just days before Bob died, I went to see him in his hospital room and held his hand for 45 minutes. He smiled at me and said all he'd done for a few days was hold men's hands. He said it was good for us men.

When I mentioned the Tigers' dismal start to the baseball season, again, he said don't worry, they've still got 159 chances to win a game. As I was leaving, I joshingly asked him if it would be OK to kiss him. He smiled, and said, "Just the feet."

He also said he loved everyone at the Free Press and he wanted them to know what a profound influence they'd had on his life during his 16 years as a top editor at the newspaper. Until the very end, he always gave credit to others, even the people he so profoundly influenced.

Bob McGruder — a great editor, wise leader and wonderful friend — died Friday at the age of 60 after a heroic 20-month battle against cancer. He never complained about his fate; he just asked us to focus on what he cared most about, the work we do as journalists.

Bob was best when times were toughest.

No matter how jolting, no matter how chaotic, no matter how sad the occasion, I knew — and everyone at the Free Press knew — that Bob would remain calm and strong, a leader who listened carefully, thought deeply and acted wisely.

Pauline Lubens/Detroit Free Press Bob meets with Free Press executives Heath J. Meriwether, left and Dave Lawrence, right, in August 1988.

Now I'm going to have to take him at his word.

In a gracious, eloquent speech last October when he accepted the John S. Knight Gold Medal, the highest honor that Knight Ridder, owner of the Free Press, bestows on any of its 20,000 employees, Bob talked about leadership, quoting a Chinese philosopher:

"As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. . . . When the best leader's work is done, the people say, 'We did it ourselves.' "

That is such a wise description of Bob McGruder. In those magical times when we all came together to produce a great newspaper — historic front pages and extraordinary coverage of a major news event; a clear useful explanation of a complicated issue; a whimsical, pitch-perfect look at life's joys and absurdities; a celebration of what is good in our community — we would all high-five, pump our fists and pat ourselves on the back until it hurt.

Bob would walk among us, smiling, and tell us we'd done a good job. Chests would puff up. Heads would be held a little higher.

We thought we'd done it ourselves.

Free Press file photo Bob in his office at the old Free Press building in 1988. He relished competition with The Detroit News.

But Bob would be the first to challenge us to match our rivals if they'd done something we should have.

His extraordinary professional achievements are known throughout the journalism world. Bob directed the Free Press newsroom to many national prizes but knew the only prize that really mattered was the daily approval of our readers.

He established a lot of firsts as an African-American editor, most notably as the first African-American executive editor of the Free Press.

But I never thought of him that way. He so believed in the richness of diversity that he made it part of the way we think and act at the Free Press, not some self-conscious afterthought.

He said it best himself, during his Knight Medal speech:

Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press Bob accepts the Helen Thomas award from the White House correspondent Jan. 26, 2002.

"First is diversity. If you believe the nice things you have said to and about me, if the great honor you have bestowed upon me means anything at all, please know that I stand for diversity. I am the messenger and the message of diversity. I represent the African Americans, Latinos, Arab Americans, Asians, Native Americans, gays and lesbians, women, and all the others we must see represented in our business offices, newsrooms and our newspapers if we truly want to meet the challenge of serving our communities.

"The other point is excellence. I believe this company is still committed to excellence. . . . There are people inside and outside the company worrying about the commitment to excellence. Yes, there have been times when I have worried about it. But I always remember that even when things got most difficult, no one ever gave me a pass on pursuing excellence."

On his 60th birthday, March 31, I kidded with Bob that one of us had to get to that milestone first. Then I told him what a good job his newspaper was doing upholding his values while he was sick. I'll never forget what he said next:

"I would expect no less."

We will always try to honor Bob by the work that we do. He would like that.

Heath J. Meriwether is the publisher of the Detroit Free Press.