Funeral arrangements have been set for Ken Smikle, the noted Chicago journalist who died earlier this week after a bout with congestive heart failure.
The celebration of life will take place Saturday, Sept. 22 at 10 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St., with a repast to follow at the church.
MORE: After Chicago journalist Ken Smikle’s death, wife renews plea for organ donors
Smikle, publisher of Target Market News, died Wednesday evening at age 66 after his wife, retired NBC5 investigative reporter Renee Ferguson, issued a plea for a donor heart.
Smikle founded the trade magazine in 1988, leading to appearances on CNN, ABC “World News Tonight,” PBS, NPR and other programs. He was frequently quoted in Newsweek, Time, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, among other publications.
Prior to that, he’d been an editor and publisher at numerous publications — from arts editor of the Amsterdam News in his native Harlem, N.Y. in the ’70s, to senior editor at Black Enterprise magazine in the ’80s.
Ferguson renewed her call in support of organ donation after her husband’s death.
“It isn’t just my husband. People need organs everyday,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to remind everyone to please consider organ donorship. Consider giving someone the gift of life and the gift of hope.”
