Huffman died Saturday at Kettering Medical Center at the age of 79 after a long bout with illnesses.
Huffman is best known for his Dayton Daily News columns, including a streak of 3,000 columns written every day for eight years.
Arundi Venkayya, the last editor to edit his columns, said she remembered his dedication to his column the most.
“I think it was who he was,” said Venkayya, who now works at Standard Register. “Finding stories, talking to people was who he was. It gave him joy and energy.”
Venkayya spoke at Huffman’s funeral, saying even when Huffman felt at his worst, he would come up with ideas for columns and tell her that once he felt better, he would write another column.
Kim Faris, a longtime radio personality and friend of Huffman’s, told a story about touring downtown on the Great Miami River in a Metro Duck, a World War II-era vehicle that’s a cross between a truck and a boat.
Faris said Huffman told the sailors to go fast down the river, only to get himself and everyone else on the boat drenched. Because Huffman was in a dress suit at the time, Faris said he was the wettest of all, and took off his shoes and socks.
“That was fine until we went back onto the land, at which we hit the dry pavement, starting blowing around and one of his socks went over. He said ‘Stop, stop! I’ve lost a sock’,” Faris said. “The sailor said, ‘Well, we can’t stop.’ That became the column of the missing sock.”
Faris said the column became so popular a little girl wrote a story about Huffman’s missing sock and its travels.
Ron Rollins, senior editor at the Dayton Daily News and Cox Media Group Ohio, said at the funeral he remembered Huffman as a community man.
“For a community to work, to be more than just an idea, there must be connection,” said Rollins, who worked with Huffman. “A connective tissue, if you will. For many years, in his columns, Dale Huffman provided that connective tissue for us.”
Last year, Huffman was honored as a “Living Legend”of the Dayton Daily News by the Wright State University Libraries Special Collections and Archives, the caretaker of the Dayton Daily News archives.
Dawne Dewey, head of Special Collections and Archives and the director of public history for Wright State University said she had only known Huffman for a year before he died, but she would always remember his warm heart.
“What do I remember the most? His warm, generous heart,” said Dewey. “He was sincerely interested in the world around him and everyone he talked to, enthusiastic about every day.”
About the Author