Larry Jock, former Valley News Dispatch publisher, dies while hunting at 58

Standing 5 feet 7 inches tall, Larry Jock had such a big personality that he proved he didn’t need to be the tallest one in the room to command its attention, his former colleagues, friends and family recalled.

“He was a smaller guy, bulky and short, but he was a big presence,” said Sandy Pulsifer, longtime friend and former neighbor of Jock’s in Allegheny Township. “When he laughed, the whole neighborhood would hear him.”

Jock, a 35-year newspaper businessman and publisher of the Valley News Dispatch from 1995 to 2000, died Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020, of a suspected heart-related incident while hunting near his home in Maryland, his family said. He was 58.

The former Allegheny Township resident knew what he liked — enjoying an Italian dinner out with his family, swapping jokes over a beer with a neighbor, giving accolades to hardworking employees — and relished delving into new hobbies later in life, including golf, fishing, photography and guitar. Jock moved to Maryland in 2000 and most recently owned Coastal Fisherman, writing stories and taking photos for the local fishing publication.

Jock also knew what displeased him, and he wasn’t afraid to say so, from ordering only-the-flat chicken wings at Buffalo Bill’s to calling out laziness or disloyalty. Friends described him as bright, inquisitive and no-nonsense.

“He knew what he wanted,” said Jon Pulsifer, Sandy Pulsifer’s husband and one of Jock’s best friends. “I think that’s partially why he was so successful.”

‘Our go-to guy’

Jock’s death stunned his loved ones and the Delmarva fishing community near his home in Ocean City, Md., as well as close friends he had retained from across the Alle-Kiski Valley from his time here two decades ago.

He left behind his son, Larry Jock — who goes by “Little Larry” — and his wife of more than 34 years, Mary Jock, whom he affectionately referred to as “the Flame.”

“I think I’m still numb,” Mary Jock said by phone Monday night.

“He will be missed at the docks,” she said, choking back tears. “He was the glue. He was our rock. He was our go-to guy.”

The pair met while they were freshmen at Kean University in New Jersey. Mary studied physical education, and Larry was trying out coursework in athletic training before switching to a major in accounting.

“He saw me across the hall and said, ‘I’m going to date that girl.’ And five or six months later, he asked me out,” she recalled.

“That was his flame, and they were smitten until the end, honestly, and she was a huge part of who he was,” Sandy Pulsifer said. “Two sort of opposite people on the outside, but on the inside they both have very loving hearts, and Larry’s brash side often times was softened up by his wife.”

‘He pushed people’

Jock, who studied accounting because he had a knack for math, got into the news business through one of his clients while working at an accounting firm straight out of college.

“He tried to learn about all aspects of the paper, not just the accounting part and the financial parts,” his wife said.

Jock saw through the transition of the Valley News Dispatch when it changed owners from Gannett to the late billionaire publisher Dick Scaife. He was promoted to vice president and chief financial officer of the Westminster Media Group, which evolved into Trib Total Media.

In the newsroom, Jock could be a bit brash, and he was not one to withhold criticism, several former employees and colleagues said.

“He was bold. He was passionate,” said Rick Monti, media consultant at Trib Total Media and the editor of the Valley News Dispatch while Jock was publisher. “He pushed people, but when they made the goals, he was very quick to reward them.”

Jock helped to set up the newspaper’s hockey team. He liked to hold monthly team meetings and give rewards ranging from donuts to filet mignon dinners for meeting budgetary goals.

Jock was known to be stubborn and tenacious yet open-minded and collegial. Monti recalled a time when the pair were in Jock’s office and a disagreement escalated into a yelling match.

“I guess it got so loud, his secretary got up and closed the door,” Monti recalled. “A few minutes later, we opened the door and said — I thought she was going to faint — ‘We’re going to lunch now.’

“We could hash it out” and leave with a smile and no hard feelings, Monti said.

Jock left Western Pennsylvania in 2000, when Gannett rehired him as president and publisher of The Daily Times in Salisbury, Md. Jock later owned Coastal Fisherman and also tried his hand at a hunting publication, part of what fueled his interest in the sport several years ago.

Jock was born and raised in Camden, N.J., where his mother, Maureen (Kelly) Jock, was a homemaker and his dad worked as a dental technician. His father, Larry Jock Sr., died in March.

In 2011, Jock was diagnosed with Stage 4 melanoma cancer of his spine, which spread to his liver. An immunotherapy treatment seemed to have been working to stave it off.

“We got nine more years, and then the heart got him, we think,” Mary Jock said.

An autopsy is pending in Baltimore to determine Jock’s official cause of death.

A memorial service is planned at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 18, at Holy Savior Catholic Church, 1705 Philadelphia Ave. in Ocean City. A visitation will be held from 9 to 11 a.m.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations in Jock’s memory be made to the Autistic Children’s Support Group of Worcester County.