The name Vernon Laing Wise Jr. has been synonymous with the Butler Eagle for more than six decades, but the towering voice remembered by so many was silenced on the evening of Nov. 14, when Wise died at age 95.

At the time of his death, his name was being announced in Hershey, as one of 100 media magnates inducted into the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Hall of Fame at the association’s 100th anniversary gala.

Still a member of the Eagle Printing Company board of directors, Wise’s employment at his family’s newspaper began as a carrier in the 1940s.

As a boy, Wise attended the Hill School in Pottstown, Montgomery County.

Wise worked his way up through the ranks at the Eagle through high school and his education at Princeton University, where he earned a degree in economics in 1951.

After graduation, he was called into military duty, serving in the U.S. Army in counterintelligence and earning top clearances during the Korean War.

Upon the death of his father in 1968, Wise became president and publisher of the Butler Eagle.

Wise represented the third generation to operate the Eagle, as his grandfather, attorney Levi Wise, merged his Butler County Observer with the Butler Eagle in 1903.

During his time at the Eagle’s helm, Wise was responsible for many innovations in printing and equipment.

A unique system devised by Wise in 2003 was outfitting the new printing press, a Goss Uniliner, with capabilities that gave the press the flexibility to also print commercial products as well.

As usual, Wise was fearless in his decision to modify the press to fit company needs.

“We have no qualms about being the first to do this,” Wise said in 2003. “The Butler Eagle has always been doing unusual things.”

Thanks to Wise’s printing savvy and decades of experience, the Eagle also holds the distinction of being the first publication to replace reporters’ typewriters with computers.

“Mr. Wise,” as he was known to the hundreds of men, women and young paper carriers who he has employed over the years, also established Butler Color Press in East Butler in 1979.

Butler Color Press has been a leader in printing advertising circulars and other products for the retail industry.

In addition to his leadership at the newspaper, Wise also worked toward the betterment of his community, having served on the Salvation Army of Butler’s advisory board for three decades.

Wise also participated in various charitable drives, including the Butler Family YMCA building fund.

In 1954, he married Sarah Cromwell, who was Miss Pittsburgh and Miss Western Pennsylvania in 1948. She was in the Top 10 of the Miss America Pageant that year, winning the swimsuit competition.

She preceded him in October 2022. The couple had two children and six grandchildren.

Once their children were grown, the Wises purchased a home in Naples, Fla., and then on Marco Island, Fla.

The couple also traveled to Colorado annually for an extended ski trip with family members.

Their son, Vernon L. “Chip” Wise III, and daughter, Jamie Wise Lanier, also held management positions at the Eagle and Butler Color Press.

Wise also was a staunch supporter of upgrading Butler Memorial Hospital in 2004, instead of tearing it down and building a new hospital at another site, which was the goal of the hospital’s then-CEO.

The late newspaper man also was well-known in the world of American Saddlebred horses, and held a harness racing license.

Wise demonstrated his equine skills at the annual World Championship Horse Show in Louisville, Ky., where he was well-respected as a top breeder and showman for decades.

He owned a large horse farm in Forward Township, where he bred his American Saddlebreds and put them through their paces as outstanding show specimens.

“It’s been an exciting life,” Wise was often heard to say.

Those who knew Wise have many and varied recollections of their interactions with him, whether sporadic or daily.

Those who worked for him at the Eagle recall a no-nonsense leader who also was fair.

“I always appreciated his dedication to the industry and, specifically, printing,” said Tammy Schuey, Eagle publisher and general manager. “He would thrive and get excited about new technologies.”

She said the office hallways and production center at the Eagle will echo Wise’s presence.

“His impactful passion will be missed at the Butler Eagle,” Schuey said.

Ron Vodenichar, president of the Eagle Media Corp. board — who joined the Butler Eagle in 1989 and retired as publisher in 2023 — expressed his gratitude for Wise’s mentorship.

“Vernon was an intelligent and adventurous business owner. His ability to see and accept the next generation of technology was second-to-none. He never shied away from new equipment or being an industry guinea pig,” he said. “He was an exceptional person to work for and to learn from over my career.”

Ron Knauff, the company’s controller from 1976 to 2008, said, in addition to the Eagle’s books, Wise had him overseeing finances at Wise’s trucking company, Butler Color Press and even the checking account of Wise’s mother, Mary.

“He was a tough customer, but he was always pretty good to me,” Knauff said.

He said Wise was always interested in cost-cutting measures, as long as the quality of the newspaper didn’t suffer.

“He was always looking at the costs of the ink and everything and looking for better ways,” Knauff said.

Because he had so many employees, Wise had a lot of names to remember.

“When I first started, he couldn’t remember my name and he called me ‘Duke,’” Knauff recalled.

Mark Mann, managing editor for 25 years before his retirement in 2016, said Wise’s singular goal for the production of copy was that articles come from and revolve around the local community.

“He was a champion for Butler County, and he wanted his newspaper to run stories about local events and local people,” Mann said. “That’s what he thought the paper was for, and he wanted to make sure the community was covered.”

He said unlike some captains of industry in the county, Wise was not an absentee owner.

“Vernon led by example,” Mann said. “He was at the paper many hours per day, and he was willing to take on any task. He was there on a regular basis, giving direction.”

Mann said Wise cared deeply about every aspect and department at the Butler Eagle, and “he was willing to back it up with his time, effort and money.”

Donna Sybert, who was hired at the Eagle in 1982 as a reporter and is now managing editor, was saddened at the news of Wise’s passing.

“Vernon Wise always had a strong commitment to the community and was willing to fight for what he thought was best for it,” Sybert said. “He also was proud of the role his family’s newspaper played in the community.”

Glenda Stitt was employed at the Eagle for 44 years, and 20 of them were spent as Wise’s executive secretary.

A breast cancer survivor, Stitt recalled Wise’s care for her during treatment, when she came to work every day, except for the days she had chemotherapy.

“He’d say ‘Glenda, go home. I can tell you’re tired,’” Stitt said, “but I felt that he was paying me to work. My job kept me going and gave me purpose.”

She recalled an instance when a circulation vehicle broke down, and Wise tasked her with driving his new luxury sedan from the office in Butler to Slippery Rock to deliver the papers from the disabled vehicle.

“He buckled me in and said ‘Be careful,’ but the fact that he trusted me said a lot,” Stitt said.

Another time, Wise sent her home with a company vehicle that had a three-speed gear shift on the steering column, so that Stitt’s husband, Don, could teach her to drive a manual transmission.

“We got along good,” Stitt said. “I respected him. I miss him already. I was at his birthday party in June.”

John L. Wise III, the former editorial page editor, is one of Wise’s cousins.

“He was a pretty tough businessman, and sort of an innovator in the industry,” John Wise said. “We remember Vernon mostly as an innovator.”

Many in the community recall doing business with Wise, serving alongside him on an organization’s board of directors, or enjoying a game of golf with him.

Dennis Glasgow said he and Vernon Wise were like “The Odd Couple,” as they were 25 years apart in age.

“He was a friend,” Glasgow said wistfully. “A good friend.”

He remembers lots of laughter on the golf course at Butler Country Club as the two men teased one another relentlessly if a ball was shanked or ended up in a sand trap.

“Everyone thinks of him as grumpy, but he was a lot of fun,” Glasgow said. “I enjoyed him.”

He respected his friend as a businessman, and enjoyed hearing stories of Wise and his fellow business owners in Butler enjoying regular breakfasts at the former Nixon Hotel, which was replaced by the NexTier building at the intersection of Main and East Diamond streets.

Wise shared with Glasgow many stories from the old days in Butler County.

“Stuff like that is so cool, to me,” Glasgow said.

He also spoke of Wise’s determination that Butler Memorial Hospital officials do the right thing in deciding whether to build a new hospital or make the necessary upgrades at the current building.

“I respect him a lot for that,” Glasgow said.

Ann Baglier, a longtime friend of Wise’s, recalled his prowess in cutting a rug.

“Vernon was always my jitterbug partner,” Baglier said. “He loved to jitterbug and was really good at it.”

Nick Neupauer, former president of Butler County Community College, also mentioned Wise’s goal of keeping the Eagle a community newspaper.

“The industry has changed so much over the years, but I know it was a goal of his to make sure there was an entity that could report on what was going on at the school board meetings and commissioners meetings, and the Friday night football games,” he said.

Like many, Neupauer marveled that Wise’s death coincided exactly with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Thursday evening on the opposite side of the state.

“I don’t think that was coincidental,” Neupauer said. “I think something larger was at play there.”