James Roark; Photo Editor of Herald Examiner

James Roark, 49, who was photo editor of the now-defunct Los Angeles Herald Examiner. A photographer at the paper for 18 years, Roark was photo editor when the Hearst publication folded in 1989. He was particularly known for a photograph he took while he was covering sports: a picture of Chicago Cubs center fielder Rick Monday rescuing an American flag from demonstrators who dashed onto the field at Dodger Stadium intending to burn the flag. The picture was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, and the Herald Examiner had it reproduced as a poster that hung in the newspaper’s photo studio and was widely distributed. After the paper closed, Roark abandoned photojournalism and moved to Portland, Ore., to attend the Western Culinary Institute. He dreamed of opening a Chinese restaurant in Westwood, and had recently worked as a cook at Poor Richard’s restaurant in Portland. On Thursday in Portland of injuries suffered in a beating by suspected robbers.