Tom Shales, an Elgin native and Pulitzer Prize-winning television critic for The Washington Post, died Saturday. He was 79.
His death at a hospital in Virginia was attributed to complications related to COVID-19 and kidney failure, according to a Washington Post report.
Shales was born in Elgin on Nov. 3, 1944, the son of Hulda Louise (Reko) and Clyde LeRoy Shales, who served a term as Elgin’s mayor in the 1960s.
A 1962 graduate of Elgin High School, he worked on the school’s yearbook, edited the school newspaper, belonged to the Maroon Club, managed the basketball and cross country teams, and served a term as class treasurer, according to the School District U-46 website.
At age 18, he worked at Elgin radio station WRMN as a disc jockey, local news reporter, writer and announcer on both the AM and FM bands, the website said.
Shales attended Elgin Community College and then went to…
