Former Providence Journal Managing Editor John Monaghan Dies at 89

Former Providence Journal Managing Editor John Monaghan Dies at 89

John J. Monaghan Jr., 89, of Cumberland, passed away Thursday, May 4, 2023. He was the husband of the late Joan (Noonan) Monaghan: they had been married for 53 years. Born in Watertown, MA, he was the son of the late John and Helen (McCarthy) Monaghan.

Mr. Monaghan worked in journalism for 47 years, beginning as a vacation relief reporter at the Pawtucket Times in 1951 and culminating in his spending nearly two decades as managing editor of the Providence Journal before his retirement in 1998. Over the course of his career, he covered state and national politics, the state Senate, and the anti-poverty program, earning a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 1968. He first transitioned from reporter to editor with his appointment as assistant city editor of the Evening Bulletin, later becoming city editor before his elevation to managing editor in the early 1980s. While he was managing editor, the newspaper won the New England Newspaper Association newspaper of the year award.

Mr. Monaghan was a graduate and lifelong supporter of Brown University, where he earned a degree in classics in 1955. Later in life he spent nearly 25 years as a member of the Brown Alumni Monthly board, earning the alumni service award. He was also a civic leader throughout his life, serving on the Cumberland Conservation Commission for ten years, the Cumberland Boys Club board for four years and was the founding member and first chairperson of the Cumberland High School Parents’ Advisory Group.

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An avid outdoorsman, Mr. Monaghan spent much of his free time at his West Ossipee, New Hampshire second home canoeing, skiing, snowshoeing and hiking in the White Mountains. In his retirement he travelled with his wife Joan throughout the United States and Europe. His interests and travels became the subjects of his continued writing, publishing pieces on travel, canoeing and skiing in the Sunday Providence Journal as well as the occasional commentary, satire or reminiscence.  

He is survived by his children, John Monaghan and his wife Judy Monaghan of Needham, Massachusetts, James Monaghan of West Ossipee, New Hampshire, and Ellen Monaghan of Cumberland, Rhode Island. He also leaves his grandchildren, Lindsay, Darcy, Tyler, Fiona, Ailis, and Sinead Monaghan, and his sisters, Sheila Harvey of Providence, Rhode Island and Mary Laporte of Hudson, Ohio.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to a Mass of Christian Burial on Thursday, May 11, 2023, at 10:00 AM in Saint John Vianney Church, 3609 Diamond Hill Road, Cumberland. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Cumberland.

Visiting hours are on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, from 5:00-8:00 PM in the O’Neill Funeral Home, 3102 Mendon Road, Cumberland.

In lieu of flowers, a donation in John's memory to the RI Community Food Bank, 200 Niantic Ave., Providence RI 02907, would be greatly appreciated.