Newspaper Executive Donald Till Dies

Donald H. Till, director of communications for The Washington Post since 1977, collapsed at a birthday party here for his son Saturday night and was pronounced dead of an apparent heart attack. He was 56.

Till, who was also communications vice president of The Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service, was known worldwide for his expertise in satellite and ground communications for wire services and the newspaper industry.

He was attending a birthday party with his wife in the London home of their oldest son, Phillip, European radio correspondent for NBC News, when stricken.

A native of England, Till was a communications manager for United Press International in Europe and New York before resigning in 1975 to join Extel Corp. in Chicago. He joined the Post and the wire service two years later in Washington.

He was active in the American Newspaper Publishers Assn. and vice chairman of the International Press Telecommunications Council, headquartered in London. He attended last week’s telecommunications council meeting in Lisbon and was en route home to Washington via London.

Cal Thornton, president and editorial director of Times-Post News Service, said, “The loss of Don Till is deeply shocking to his many friends and colleagues in the industry.”

William F. Thomas, editor and executive vice president of the Los Angeles Times, said: “We’re going to miss him an awful lot; he was so terribly good at his job.”

Survivors include his wife, Isobel, of Fairfax, Va.; sons, Phillip, Robert, Colin and Martin; daughter, Isabel, and three grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.