John Engstrom

John Engstrom, a respected Seattle Post-Intelligencer writer and editor, died Jan. 19, 2014 at his home on the Oregon coast after a 10-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia. He was 72.

The descendant of a pioneer Whidbey Island family, Engstrom wrote and edited sports, features and travel stories at the Seattle P-I, served as the paper’s TV critic, and worked as a reporter for United Press International (UPI). He and his wife, longtime Seattle P-I columnist Susan Paynter, retired to Oceanside, Ore., in April 2009.

Mr. Engstrom was a graduate of Coupeville High School and the University of Washington, where he received a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education and a master of education degree. He was the son of John E. “Jack” Engstrom and the former Flora Elizabeth “Betty” Engle. He is survived by his wife, their son, Nate, 24, of Seattle; a sister, Carolee Shubert of Brooklyn, N.Y.; and nephews, John Shubert of Winston-Salem, N.C. and Philip Shubert of Brooklyn.

Memorials can be made to the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.