Newspaper owner A.B. Chandler Jr., son of former governor, dies at 87

Albert Benjamin “Ben” Chandler Jr., 87, longtime owner and publisher of The Woodford Sun and father of former U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, died Saturday.

Chandler was the son of former Kentucky Gov. A.B. “Happy” Chandler, and the last of his four children who was still living.

He spent part of his childhood in the governor’s mansion and went on to graduate from the Darlington School in Rome, Ga., and the University of Kentucky.

After serving in the military during the Korean War, Chandler began his nearly 60-year career at The Woodford Sun in 1957. Happy Chandler had bought the newspaper in 1942.

Over the years, he became “an expert on Woodford County history,” said his son, former U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler. For decades, he wrote a column called Happy Landings, often including tidbits of the area’s history.

Former managing editor Moss Vance said the column was insightful and “always worth reading,” touching on politics, literature and sports.

“He didn’t really like the limelight,” Ben Chandler said of his father. But “he had quite a sense of humor. He was very witty.”

In 2012, he was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame.

“He has included aggressive coverage of planning, zoning, and development issues, a major focus of public concern in Woodford County during most of his tenure,” the biography that accompanied the induction stated. “Ben’s paper publishes more public records than most in Kentucky, and reaches a high percentage of households in the county.”

Vance said he befriended Chandler as a boy in the early 1940s, and joined in many a softball and football game on the family’s property on Elm Street in Versailles.

“His mother used to say that we were distinguishable but inseparable,” Vance said.

Later, the men spent 40 years working together at the Sun, before Vance retired in 2001.

He said Chandler spent his life “covering the news that was so important to the community. Where your tax dollars go, for example.”

“He was a great friend and a great leader and the most marvelous person,” Vance said.

Chandler’s son Whitney has served as publisher of the paper since 2014.

He was a longtime member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Versailles.

In addition to his wife, Lucie “Toss” Chandler, he is survived by three sons, Albert Benjamin “Ben” Chandler III and his wife, Jennifer; Whitney Chandler and his wife Shaoqian Chandler; and Matthew Chandler, all of Versailles, as well as four grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Pisgah Presbyterian Church in Versailles. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the church.

This story was originally published October 22, 2016 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Newspaper owner A.B. Chandler Jr., son of former governor, dies at 87."