What I admired most about Ted Grossman was his deep community spirit.

He didn’t just write about the news – he was invested in his story subjects. It’s really the essence of small-town journalism: news coverage with heart and sensitivity.

Grossman, a long-time Orcas Islander and former owner and editor of the Islands’ Sounder, passed away on May 3 with his wife Kay and children Alex and Marcy by his side after a brief battle with metastatic lung cancer.

Ted and Kay bought the Sounder in 1985 from Al and Nickee Magnuson. The Grossmans sold the Sounder in 1994 to Sound Publishing Inc., and Ted stayed on as the editor until his retirement in 2006.

He will be missed by the Sounder staff – both current and past – and by the many community members’ whose lives he touched. Ted was known for his intensity but also his sense of humor.

As someone who grew up on Lopez and San Juan Island, I was very familiar with Ted’s reporting. As a young intern at the Islands’ Weekly, I always looked up to Ted as what it meant to be a “real” journalist. That entailed going to sporting events, covering meetings and profiling community members.

In watching his relationship with Amanda Leidig, his long-time reporter at the Sounder, I was in awe of their easy rapport and head-on tackling of issues. I looked up to them and to publisher Elyse Van den Bosch, who embodied small-town, passionate journalism.

Since I have been publisher at the Islands’ Sounder, I have tried to carry on what Ted cultivated for all those years. His dedicated spirit will live on for years within the pages of our beloved newspaper.

There will be a potluck brunch “Celebration of Life” on Saturday, May 17 in the Madrona Room of Orcas Center at 10 a.m. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Kaleidoscope, PO Box 1476, Eastsound Wa., 98245 or the Northwest Parkinson’s Foundation, 400 Mercer Street, Suite 502, Seattle, Wa. 98109, 206-946-6514, www.nwpf.org.