By Kevin Wing

One of my best buddies has died.

I found out this weekend that one of my best friends passed away last week. I’m tremendously sad that he is gone from this life and that I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye, that I didn’t have one last opportunity to thank him for being my buddy, but I know that his soul and spirit are now forever free from all of the physical pain and suffering he endured during the last dozen years. And did this poor guy go through a lot.

Les Mahler was a wonderful friend. And he was one helluva journalist. He was a bulldog of a newspaper reporter, for sure. He had a passion for journalism. He was the kind of reporter who relished writing an investigative piece that would expose the bad guys. He was dogged, and he was determined, to get the story. He loved what he did. And even when the rare, terminal cancer slowed him down, he fought as hard as he could to hold on to his love of being a reporter. For Les could tell a story like nobody’s business.

Les and I met many years ago, when both of us were students at Ohlone College. Before I was there, he was there, already exercising his journalistic muscle as a reporter and editor for “The Monitor,” the campus newspaper. By the time I arrived at Ohlone, at 18, Les was already in his early 30s, wrapping up his time with the paper just as I was joining it as a kid fresh out of high school. Les had already seen the world, and had come back to Ohlone to finish his studies. We met one day when he came into the newsroom to complain about the quality of my writing. I’ll never forget it. He wrote “letters to the editor” about topical issues of interest to Ohlone students as well. He was always on my butt to be a better reporter. I learned a lot from him.

Our paths crossed again about 15 years ago. This time, we became friends. We loved talking about politics and what was going on in the news. Les had an opinion. Ha ha. For everything.

He had a heart of gold as well. A big heart. And while he struggled mightily with the cancer that finally conquered him late Thursday night at the age of 69, he never stopped caring about others. He cared about kids with cancer, so he created Stomp Out Kids Cancer, an annual Bay Area fundraiser.
And, he cared about his friends. Including me. He was always there for me, even during the valleys of my life. I’ll never forget him for that.

Rest in peace, my friend. Your good fight is over. You did well, champ. You did well.

Kevin Wing is a member of the Media Museum of Northern California and a senior correspondent for “Off Camera,” a monthly publication of the San Francisco/Northern California chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. He is also a chapter governor.