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I was saddened to hear of the death this morning of Bill Snider, the former Greensboro Record and Daily News editor and editorial page editor who was a friend, a mentor and a consummate scholar and journalist.

The funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church.

Bill was smart, thoughtful, courageous and deeply principled. He was also generous with his time and his advice.

He wrote two books. “Helms and Hunt: The North Carolina Senate Race, 1984’’ recalls the fierce and iconic U.S, Senate race between Jesse Helms and Jim Hunt.

"Light on the Hill: A History of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’’ was a labor of love, published in 1992.

Bill also wrote a regular column for the Sunday op-ed pages until 2005. He played tennis well into his 70s. As for courage, Bill's tough, defiant Greensboro Daily News editorials during the civil rights era earned him a burning cross in his yard and a brick through his front window. He hired very, very good people, including Ed Yoder, Jonathan Yardley , John Alexander. and editorial cartoonist Hugh Haynie.

He held strong views and convictions, but he respected the opinions of others, and counted among his many friends people whose beliefs were diametrically opposed to his own.

My predecessor as editorial page editor, John Robinson, suggested that one of the wisest first moves I could make was to sit down for lunch with Bill. JR was right. Bill was a helpful and constructive critic and cheerleader. Sometimes he'd gently tweak me. More often, he'd offer warm words of encouragement and pride for something he thought we'd done especially well.

The first words of every call, always marinated with a Southern accent, were, "Allen, this is Bill Sniduh."

The last time I heard from Bill was that kind of a voice mail, left out of the blue, I think, in 2011.

He and his lovely wife Flo graciously invited me into their home more than once. Once after church and Sunday school we convened there for an early dinner and a spicy debate of the issues. Another time I coached Bill, who typically pounded out his columns on an old-fashioned typewriter, and delivered them in person, on how to email his pieces.

I am blessed to have known him and to have been able to call him my friend.