Palik leaves behind legacy of storytelling, balanced reporting

by Melissa Martin

The community and office of ScripType Publishing continue to mourn the loss of renowned journalist and community advocate, Margaret J. Palik, who passed away July 1 at the age of 87 following a period of declining health.

Affectionately known to her family and friends as “Marge,” Palik served more than three decades as the editor of The Hinckley Record, where she earned the admiration of her community for both her journalistic integrity and a penchant for storytelling. Not only did she chronicle the lives and events that shaped the community she called home, but did so with genuine curiosity and fair and balanced reporting, Marge left a lasting impact on countless readers and sources alike.

According to Publisher Sue Serdinak much of the early success of the Hinckley Record, the Brecksville Magazine and BroadView Journal can be attributed to Palik. She was trusted in the communities and understood their issues and the dynamics within.

“I trusted her implicitly, and being able to talk over issues and brainstorm with her made it possible to establish these magazines,” said Serdinak. “She brought calmness into an office facing deadlines twice a month.”

“On a personal level, she was a trusted and wonderful friend, that I will always miss.”

“My mother was a natural-born journalist who had a passion for fact-finding,” Palik’s daughter, Vicki Tifft said. “Whether it was reporting for The Record or simply doing a deep dive into our family history for genealogy purposes, she always made sure to get all sides of the story and, even more importantly, that she got the story correct.

“The people she worked closely with, especially the politicians, knew that,” Tifft continued. “They often came to her because they knew she would get all the facts, she would present them correctly and that her articles would never be sensationalized. She definitely represented Hinckley well for all those decades.”

Marge began working for ScripType Publishing in the early 1990s, and Tifft said her mother’s attention to detail was “in her blood,” thanks to her parents Alfred and Ellen Jones and her upbringing. Tifft said Ellen was a parliamentarian and, accordingly, was an expert in the rules, precedents and procedures of deliberative assemblies, such as legislative bodies or corporate boards. Her fond appreciation for process and order was passed down to Marge, and to her sisters, Patricia Anderson and Barbara Brashear, from a young age.

“Even in the midst of controversy, she knew how important it was to be fair and impartial,” Tifft said of Palik. “But beyond that, she could definitely keep everyone on their toes with just one look and a raised eyebrow. Anyone who knows her knew that look well.”

Before she began her career as a community journalist, Palik earned her degree in education from Western Reserve University (renamed Case Western Reserve University in 1967) and worked as a local teacher and substitute teacher for more than a decade. After marrying her high school sweetheart, Dennis J. Palik, to whom she shared 67 years of marriage, she became a stay-at-home mother to her four children John Palik (Debra Fleming), Lauren Palik Alterman (Stuart), Victoria Palik Tifft (Quinten) and Kenneth Palik (Susan). She later became a cherished grandmother of 11 and the great-grandmother of eight.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Palik embraced life with enthusiasm and curiosity. She loved traveling and treasured the many adventures she shared with family and friends. She was an exceptional bridge player whose sharp mind, competitive spirit and love of the game brought her years of enjoyment and lasting friendships. She was a member of several local competitive bridge clubs and also served as a member of Hinckley’s Citizen of the Year Committee, the Hinckley Women’s Club, the Brecksville Women’s Club, the Recreation Association of Hinckley and several Highland Schools parent-teacher organizations.

Palik also belonged to the Northeast Ohio Collie Rescue group and was an avid reader, attending several book club meetings up until the last weeks of her life. She also loved knitting and took great pride in her English-Welsh heritage, deeply cherishing the enduring relationships she maintained with her Welsh relatives, celebrating the traditions and family connections that meant so much to her.

She made several trips to England and spent her 80th birthday in Wales.

“She kept saying that trip was going to be her last, but she went on to make a few before her death,” Tifft said.

Palik also served as a mentor to several women in the area, particularly in the areas of autonomy and financial independence, Tifft noted.

“She loved to tell the younger women she came into contact with that they needed to know how to protect themselves as women and to ‘make sure [they] always had money of [their] own,'” Tifft said, noting that advice was also passed down lovingly by Palik’s own mother. “When my grandmother passed, she left money to her three daughters – not their husbands – to remind them that they always had to be prepared to take care of themselves in the event something happened to their spouse.”

Palik’s husband, Dennis, passed away six months and two days before her.

Tifft said Palik also will be remembered for her intelligence, kindness, wit, and for always keeping her mind sharp.

“She did crossword puzzles every day,” Tifft said. “From her hospice bed, she was still playing journalist with a man from Brecksville who visited her with his therapy dog. She asked him all the questions she could to find out his story. Right up to the end, she truly was an amazing storyteller and her warmth, wisdom and generous spirit enriched the lives of everyone who knew her.”

Photo caption: Marge Palik, former editor of The Hinckley Record, passed away July 1. Photo submitted.