10/07/2025
Obituary
John Myron Wylie, II
March 1, 1953 — October 4, 2025
John M Wylie II, 72, of Oologah, Oklahoma, died October 4, 2025, at his home on Lake Oologah.
He was born on March 1, 1953, in Santa Monica, California, to Wilder E. Wylie and Laura H. Wylie.
He grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where he graduated high school from Pembroke Hill School in 1971. He graduated from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa in 1975.
He married Faith Lubben and they had one child, James Wylie.
John was a decorated and accomplished journalist and publisher. He believed that the First Amendment is a fundamental right of the American people, and that journalism could help citizens actively participate in government and hold accountable those who abused authority and trust. He also believed that journalism contributes to local economic development and civic prosperity.
His journalistic career began at Grinnell where he was editor-in-chief of The Grinnell Scarlet & Black, a correspondent for the Des Moines Register and United Press International, and a news director and on-air personality for KDIC-FM radio.
He joined The Kansas City Star in 1974 as an intern and was named its first full-time energy and environment writer in 1975. He wrote a series on pesticide misuse that led to a federal ban on one chemical and new restrictions on aerial pesticide applications. He covered the Three Mile Island nuclear accident for the Star. He was part of the Star team whose coverage of the Hyatt Regency skywalk disaster won a Pulitzer Prize in 1982. He ended his career at the Star as Southland bureau chief.
In 1984, he and Faith purchased the Oologah Lake Leader, a weekly newspaper in Oklahoma, which they published until 2017. Under their leadership, it was named the state’s best newspaper in its circulation category 17 times. In this role he and Faith contributed to the rich history of community journalism coming from Oologah, where famous columnist (among other things) Will Rogers was from, and where Bill Hogue had published the famous Oologah Oozings. The Oologah Lake Leader is now owned and operated by Reid Newspapers.
(Read the full obituary in the Thursday edition of the Oologah Lake Leader)
