Former AJC sports writer, publicist Norman Arey dies at 84
Norman Arey’s career path lends an insight into the versatility and skill that he called upon in his unlikely professional life.
At points in his career, he was a sports writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, an assistant athletic director at Georgia Tech, and a publicist for a professional tennis circuit and an Atlanta PR firm.
He left the AJC and was hired back at least twice. In his final return to the newspaper, he co-wrote a hugely popular Atlanta society column and eventually covered Tech — the very institution that had once employed him. At the end of his career, he led the newspaper’s coverage of a scandal in northwest Georgia regarding a crematory’s gruesome crimes.
Such a ranging and boundary-hopping career required surpassing ability as a journalist and promoter, as well as uncanny people skills and a bold spirit. Arey, who died Saturday at the age of 84 from stomach cancer, possessed all.
“The world’s quite a bit less interesting today than it was before we lost Norman,” former Tech coach Bill Curry said Thursday.
Born March 5, 1941 in Granite Quarry, North Carolina, Arey attended Georgia and was writing for the Atlanta Journal by 1970. David Davidson was a longtime AJC colleague and friend.
“Norman was the first one who hopped up and came over and shook my hand and (said), ‘Welcome aboard, and here, use this desk until we figure out what’s going on,’” Davidson said. “He was just nice to me from the beginning.”
It was a manifestation of Arey’s knack for people.
“Norman, he had a way of getting along with just anybody,” Davidson said.
It served him well as a reporter and publicist in his vocations across that divide.
“He was wonderful,” Curry said. “He was smart. He knew when to tell me to shut up. He had a good feel for how things should be presented.”
Arey also dabbled in radio and, with his wife, Peg, led a vibrant social life. Even in his retirement in Rome, he was visible around town, often with one of his standard poodles in tow.
“Norman could do just about anything,” said Mike Finn, whom Arey hired to work at Tech in its media relations department. “He was a fun guy to be around.”
He extended that warmth while carrying the pain of a most painful loss. In 1982, his middle son Jack died at the age of 17 in a car wreck not far from the family home near Emory University.
Arey’s youngest son Allen remembered his father as being solid in the face of the family tragedy.
“The solidity in there is that he was always dependable, that you could turn to him and he would drop everything and say, ‘OK, tell me what the problem is,’” Allen Arey said. “He was just supportive — of course, he had his opinions — but he was going to support you to the end and he never let work get in the way of still being able to talk with his family.”
Arey is survived by his wife, sons Trey and Allen, and two grandchildren. A memorial gathering will be held at The Spires at Berry College at 1 p.m. on Oct. 25. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the Rome-Floyd Humane Society.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
