and return phone calls get much better press than people who are just funny and smart." He stepped down from the Nieman position on May 25, 1989, on medical leave, and succumbed to pancreatic cancer three weeks later, aged 60. A scholarship named after him assists minority students aspiring in journalism (see ). References Epstein, Noel. Howard Simons, Ex-Managing Editor of Post and Nieman Curator, Dies. Washington Post, June 14, 1989. Jones, Alex S. Howard Simons Dies at Age 60, an Ex-Editor at Washington Post. New York Times, June 14, 1989. 1929 births 1989 deaths Deaths from pancreatic cancer Harvard University staff Writers from Albany, New York Union College (New York) alumni Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Jewish American journalists 20th-century American Jews