Ronald J Ostrow

Ronald J. Ostrow, 89, a storied newspaper reporter in the Washington bureau of the Los Angeles Times for more than three decades, passed away in Chevy Chase, MD, on Monday, June 14. His wife, Alyce Kelly Ostrow, was at his side.

Ron was renowned among colleagues and competitors as one of the best-sourced reporters covering the Department of Justice. He was intimately involved in covering Watergate, helping break news that dramatically changed the trajectory of that story, including the first on-record account linking President Nixon’s reelection committee to illegal wiretapping and a scoop that a grand jury had named Nixon as an unindicted co-conspirator. He also wrote about the Iran-Contra scandal, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Supreme Court and scores of other topics. "He was always knowledgeable, always prepared, always fair," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement after Ron's passing. "He was tough as a journalist, kind as a person. You could always pick him out in a crowd – he was the one wearing the bowtie."

Born in San Francisco, Ron graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1953, where he served as homecoming chairman his senior year, was a cheerleader and president of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity. After a tour in the Army, he worked at the Wall Street Journal and Business Week before joining the Los Angeles Times in 1962 as a business writer. He was awarded a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard in 1964-65 and was recruited to the Times' Washington bureau in 1966. Ron co-authored two books, "The FBI and the Berrigans - The Making of a Conspiracy" (1972) with colleague Jack Nelson and "Taking Care of the Law," with former Attorney General Griffin Bell (1982), and was a longtime member of the Gridiron Club in Washington.

One of Ron's early assignments – covering Senator Edward Kennedy’s accident on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969 – led to a life-long love of Martha’s Vineyard, where he and family vacationed for decades, including with his beloved daughter, Kathryn Jeanne Ostrow, who died from cystic fibrosis in 1977. Ron was an avid runner, cook, reader and fisherman.

In addition to his wife Alyce, with whom he celebrated 40 years of marriage this past Valentine’s Day, he is survived by stepdaughters Kalin Hyman (John Hyman) and Alison Auerbach (Marc Schindler); stepbrother, Lou Lovell; four grandchildren, Tucker Hyman (Kaeley Secan), Montana Hyman, Maya Schindler, and Jacob Schindler; and cousins Alan Levin, Betsy Levin, John Levin, Sarah Levin, and their spouses. His marriage to the former Patricia Curran ended in divorce.

A celebration of his life will be held on Thursday, June 24 at 2 p.m. at the National Press Club, 529 14th St NW, Washington. Donations may be made in his name to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation by using the following website: https://www.cff.org/give-today/

Los Angeles Times news obituary: https://www.latimes.com/obituaries/story/2021-06-18/ronald-j-ostrow-tenacious-times-reporter-who-led-the-papers-watergate-coverage-dies

Washington Post news obituary: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ronald-ostrow-died/2021/06/17/615f34bc-cec4-11eb-8cd2-4e95230cfac2_story.html