Born into a newspaper family, Skip Mazenauer was a staunch supporter of Grand Island, helping many in the Western New York community and beyond succeed through his publications and many volunteer efforts.
“In our family, he was an unwavering optimistic person,” said Judy, his wife of 42 years. “He always believed in trying to help people realize their fullest potential.”
The longtime publisher of the Grand Island-based Niagara Frontier Publications died on Christmas Eve at the age of 80.
Skip’s parents were the original owners of the Grand Island Pennysaver, which started in 1950 out of the parent’s house. He bought the paper from his mother in 1978 who merged it with the Island Dispatch that year. Niagara Frontier Publications grew to include the Lewiston-Porter Sentinel and the Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune. The Sentinel and Tribune merged in April 2020 to become the Niagara County Tribune/Sentinel, with the Grand Island Dispatch merging this past October into the Tribune-Sentinel.
Judy said that by 1978, ink was in his blood.
“The community newspapers were just so important to him,” she said, adding she too has been involved in various roles at the paper since she met Skip. “He felt the community needed a good newspaper.”
Joshua Maloni joined the company in the fall of 2003, first as an editorial coordinator, and then as a section editor before becoming the current managing editor and general manager. Skip helped him out every step of the way. Maloni said Skip loved being involved in every aspect of the paper.
“For the staff, he was our biggest supporter and defender,” Maloni said. “Despite that he was our boss and we thought some questions were insignificant, he never handled it that way. He never thought it was a bother or nuisance.”
Mazenauer joined the Grand Island Rotary Club in May 1959 and spent the next 65 years with the organization. Across that time, he served as president, vice president, and membership chair. During his time there he was a three-time Paul Harris Fellow and participated in the Every Rotarian Every Year program for eight years.
He also served on the boards for Artpark, the Aquarium of Niagara, Old Fort Niagara, the Niagara County Builders Association and the now-Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce among others. Niagara Frontier Publications also played a role in supporting the Grand Island Chamber of Commerce and helped start the Grand Island Citizen of the Year and Property Improvement awards.
Faye Teluk, the current Grand Island Rotary Club president, has been involved on and off with the organization for the past eight years, only getting to know Skip in the past two-and-a-half years when he was an honorary Rotarian. Even then, she was aware of his large presence.
“He was a very gentle caring person who was very involved with the community,” Teluk said. “He was a wonderful man.”
Throughout his life, Mazenauer battled an autoimmune disease and this past November he and Judy decided to take a step back, with the publisher duties spread out across the staff. The Mazenauer family still owns the company.
“To me, those are the heroes of our world,” Judy said. “The people who have illnesses and still carry on.”
As Judy reached out to people they knew asking for prayers, everyone who called her back shared their stories and visited him at Kenmore Mercy Hospital. He had a habit of giving people their first jobs with the newspaper, never harboring any ill feelings when they left for their next opportunity.
“Everyone who called me said, ‘He mentored me,’ ” Judy said, “ ‘He doesn’t know how he brought out the best in me.’ ”
Details on upcoming funeral services were not available on Monday.