A-J reporter Walt Nett remembered as 'asset to Lubbock'

The Avalanche-Journal newsroom feels a strong sense of loss after longtime newspaper reporter-editor Walt Nett died Wednesday in his home in West Lubbock.

He was 59.

News of his death brought an outpouring of grief and fond remembrances to the A-J, including from area business and community leaders.

Losing Nett was perhaps as heartfelt a blow at the Lubbock County Medical Examiner's office as it was at newsrooms across the country.

Sridhar Natarajan, the county's chief medical examiner whose testimony in Lubbock County Court Nett often reported, recalled when his office received the call Nett had died.

"When we learned it was Walt, a heavy, very quiet, solemn sense fell over the office," Natarajan said Thursday afternoon. "Knowing that he passed away affects us all deeply as people here. We lost a great person."

U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, expressed sadness at Nett's loss in a message he wrote via Twitter.

"Talking with Walt was always fun," Neugebauer wrote. "He was a good reporter & an asset to Lubbock. Prayers."

Neugebauer's tweet was among many messages, emails and calls the A-J received from throughout the country sharing condolences about Nett's death.

Terry Greenberg, A-J Media's vice president of audience, said the outpouring of support was telling.

"The best thing you can say about a journalist are the kind of comments we have heard in the community since the news of Walt's passing," he said. "And the fact that he had that kind of impact in just a few years since coming here from Arizona is impressive. He left a hole in our newsroom and community and will be missed."

Nett died from natural causes, Natarajan confirmed, pending a final medial examiner's ruling Friday.

His 35-year career included stretches as a reporter and editor in Arizona and California, including as a journalism instructor at the University of Arizona. Nett worked as a reporter and online editor for The Arizona Daily Star in Tucson, Ariz., from 1986 to 1998 and as assistant city editor/online editor at The Bakersfield Californian from 1998 to 2002.

He even tried his hand at running a restaurant, The Bus Stop Cafe, in Tucson for about eight months in 2002 and 2003, later joking with co-workers about the challenging experience.

He started with the Avalanche-Journal in 2008.

He most recently covered the courts beat as a reporter in Lubbock, writing about local, state and federal courts.

adam.young@lubbockonline.com

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