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Copy Editor Looked Out For Others

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By JEFF SCULLIN

jscullin@tampatrib.com

Published: February 16, 2009

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Janice Hall

TAMPA - Janice Hall spent more than two decades fussing over sentence structure and misplaced commas and clarifying facts in the stories that crossed her desk.

Hall, 61, who died Saturday morning after a 20-year battle with cancer, was known as a meticulous proofreader, a stickler for getting things right. She spent nearly 20 years with The Tampa Tribune as a copy editor and, before that, was an editor and reporter for the now-defunct Clearwater Sun.

"She knew what she was doing. She cared about what she was doing," said Penny Carnathan, a features editor at the Tribune who hired Hall in 1991. "Even though the stories had already been read by editors, maybe a couple of times, she was the last eyes on them, and she went word-for-word through every story to make sure every comma was in place ... every fact matched up."

More than that, though, Hall was positive and upbeat, a "glass-half-full" kind of person who didn't let sickness sideline her and laughed off life's minor misfortunes.

"Everything was, 'I'm OK. I'll be fine,'" said her daughter, Dawn. "She had a big heart. She cared a lot about people. She cared about people more than she cared about herself."

That especially included her three grandchildren, her beloved Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former Bucs player Mike Alstott, who people say looks a lot like her son, Danny.

Born in Duluth, Minn., Hall moved to Florida as a child, living most of her life in Pinellas Park. She studied journalism at the University of Florida, opening the door to stories about food, travel, fitness, famous people and countless other topics. Her favorites, though, likely were the profiles she wrote at the Sun on actor Patrick Duffy, then a big star on the TV drama "Dallas," and former teen idol Bobby Rydell, her daughter said.

There will be a memorial service for Hall at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Memorial Park Funeral Home, 4900 54th Ave. N. in St. Petersburg.

Editor Jeff Scullin can be reached at (813) 259-7305.

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