Ed Kayatt
"My father, lived, breathed, ate, drank and slept the paper. It's not a business. It's a life." - Richard Kayatt
By Joshua Rosenau
Richard Kayatt served as an assistant publisher alongside his father at the paper's inception.
Manhattan Media acquired the company in 1990. Straus News purchased it in January.
Irving Lepselter spent 15 years working under Kayatt, crafting the 'Cityscape' series of editorial cartoons.
Lepselter said that he remembered Kayatt as a hard-nosed newspaperman with a soft spot for animals.
"He had an office filled with creatures, with dogs he would take in and cats he would take in," he said. "It looked like it was an animal shelter."
Arlene Kayatt, ex-wife and former investigative reporter at Our Town, described Kayatt as a firm but fair man, who commanded respect.
"People respected him, but they also knew they didn't want to do the wrong thing because they knew they'd be called on it."
Kayatt's longtime companion Nancy Sexton was distraught over the loss.