In loving memory of Christopher Wienandt
By ACES Staff
Former Dallas Morning News editor, Christopher Wienandt died on June 16, 2020. Chris was a founding member of ACES and past president. He served on the Dallas Morning News copy desk for 34 years before retiring in 2017.
Chris repeatedly gave of himself to ACES through his service on the board, countless hours of training and mentoring, and organizing ACES’ national conferences. When asked to step in as president in 2005, Chris did not hesitate.
“Chris was a great guy—kind, witty, and somehow both gracious and adamant about the things that mattered to him. He was devoted to the craft of editing and to ACES, and I think he was very proud to have been a founding member and officer.
“Everyone in ACES, even if you didn’t know Chris, owes him a debt of gratitude for all the work he did over many years to keep our group strong. As with all things, Chris did more than show up. He mentored, he taught, he cared. That’s the sort of person he was.
“He was also just a hell of a lot of fun. I always looked forward to hanging out with Chris at conferences—who didn’t? He’ll be missed by many,” remembers ACES member Melissa McCoy.
Those at ACES knew Chris as fun, thoughtful, and someone you wanted to be around. As ACES president, Chris was known for dyeing his hair before the closing ceremony at the national conference, most often blue and then pink. In addition to his love of language, Chris also had a passion for motorcycles. He was able to combine both by taking his time driving hundreds of miles across the country to attend ACES national conferences. Chris got to express his love of music during some epic ACES karaoke events when he attended the national conference.
As outgoing as he could be, Chris was a quiet man and a deep thinker. When asked a question, the answer wouldn’t be shot from the hip. It would be deep and thoughtful. It was no surprise that he perfected his skills at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
“ACES would not be where it is today without Chris. His leadership, guidance and love of language and teaching helped fuel this organization from infancy to becoming one of the largest editing organizations in the nation,” said Teresa Schmedding, ACES past president.
In 2014, Chris was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. He returned as a speaker to ACES for our anniversary conference in Portland in 2016.
ACES will forever be grateful to Chris for the countless hours he dedicated to the organization and to the field of editing.
