Obituary: Ginny Frizzi was a 'giant' of the Pittsburgh journalism community

Nov. 25, 1953 - June 1, 2020: Ms. Frizzi died of COVID-19 complications at UPMC Shadyside

JUN 4, 2020

You would have been hard-pressed over the past 40 years to come across a journalism or communications-related event in Western Pennsylvania that didn’t have Virginia “Ginny” Frizzi’s fingerprints on it.

In addition to her 25 years as media relations director for Point Park University, Ms. Frizzi was a past president of the Pittsburgh Professional Society of Professional Journalists chapter, Women’s Press Club of Pittsburgh and Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. She also served two terms on the SPJ national board of directors and was honored twice as regional director of the year, and was a faculty member on SPJ’s Ted Scripps Leadership Workshop and other SPJ writing workshops.

“It’s like Ginny has always been there with us, as friends and [in] all the circles we’ve walked in and traveled in throughout Pittsburgh,” said Rosemary Martinelli, a longtime friend and the secretary of the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania. “No matter where all of us have been, Ginny was part of all of that.”

Ms. Frizzi died Monday at UPMC Shadyside of complications from COVID-19. She was 66 and had been suffering from various other ailments, but “COVID is what did it,” according to her sister, Eva Frizzi.

“She was smart,” Eva said. “She was very news-oriented, a news hound. She was into history. She was fun. She had a really good memory for things. We’re just going to miss her.”

Ms. Frizzi is survived by her sister and two brothers, Joseph of Oakland and William of Polish Hill. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Virginia.

Ms. Frizzi was born Nov. 20, 1953, in Pittsburgh. Her family moved from Polish Hill to Morningside when Ms. Frizzi was 4 years old, and she and Eva remained in that house until Ms. Frizzi moved to ManorCare Health Services Pittsburgh as her health began to fail. Both sisters attended St. Raphael Elementary School and St. Raphael High School, the latter of which closed in 1973.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in journalism from Point Park in 1975, Ms. Frizzi began her professional career as a reporter for The Coraopolis Record before transitioning to the communications world at her alma mater and then the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence.

She quickly earned a reputation as a tireless supporter for journalism through her work with the universities, SPJ and other advocacy groups with which she was heavily involved.

“She was always in the leadership somewhere,” said Maggie Patterson, former vice president and now acting president of Pittsburgh’s SPJ chapter following Ms. Frizzi’s death. “If she said she could help with something, you knew that was a person you could count on. She always followed through and showed a lot of leadership in every organization she was a part of. She was really devoted to supporting journalism and journalists.”

That’s also the impression that WTAE-TV reporter and friend Bob Mayo had of Ms. Frizzi: “Ginny, for all of her dedication and hard work, was an unassuming person. Ginny was the person who ... made things happen, but she wouldn’t seek or step into the spotlight. She was that person you turned to when important things needed to get done and recruited and inspired people to get things done.”

Stacey Federoff, president of the Women’s Press Club of Pittsburgh, was always taken with the way Ms. Frizzi dedicated her career to “supporting and connecting the Pittsburgh journalism community with her time and talents.”

“As a past president, her continued support of the club, its mission and scholarship was very meaningful,” she said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to her family, especially her sister, Eva. She will be greatly missed by all of us.”

Raymond “Bernie” Ankney, the dean of Point Park’s School of Communication, grew up in Ligonier and studied journalism at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He considers Ms. Frizzi a “giant with her work” and appreciates all she has done for student journalists over her long career.

“If there was an activity for journalists in Pittsburgh, it seems like Ginny was always involved with it,” Mr. Ankney said. “To me, someone who grew up knowing I wanted to be a journalist and seeing someone so committed to the profession, it was something I always respected and admired.”

Ms. Frizzi also had a mischievous side, though. Eva recalled a time the two were in London and stole a poster of Prince Andrew and his then-new bride Sarah Ferguson leaving their wedding in a carriage for their honeymoon. The poster was leaning against a closed newsstand, and the pair dragged it back to their hotel, used a butter knife to remove its cardboard backing and brought it back to the United States. They framed it, and it still hangs in Eva’s Morningside home.

“She worked really hard and she was active as hell,” Eva said. “She went and did whatever she wanted to do.”

Eva said her sister had experienced a few health scares before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, including a brain bleed in February that required surgery. On Saturday, Eva received a call from ManorCare and was told Ms. Frizzi would be moved to UPMC Shadyside due to her condition deteriorating.

Eva was able to spend the last few days of her sister’s life with her at the hospital. She was there almost all day Sunday and Monday and learned of her death after she returned home Monday evening.

“She waited until I was gone to do it,” Eva said. “The doctor told me that they see that a lot. Sometimes when you have visitors and you’re getting to the end of the road, they wait until the visitors leave.”

Just as Western Pennsylvania lost a staunch journalism advocate, those in her life lost a loyal friend.

Ms. Martinelli said she will miss the little packages she would regularly receive from Ms. Frizzi that she called “Ginny surprises.” They would always include something Ms. Frizzi knew Ms. Martinelli would appreciate and a note that began with “FYI, thought of this” or something similar, and end with the popular catchphrase of late “PBS NewsHour” anchor Jim Lehrer: “Onward!”

“Ginny was always there,” Ms. Martinelli said. “... She was just so solidly connected to the communications and media world in Pittsburgh, and I’m honored to have said we were friends. There are a lot of things I think I learned from her, and it’s such an understatement to say she will be so sorely missed.

“Her imprint and legacy will really live on.”

Joshua Axelrod: jaxelrod@post-gazette.com and Twitter @jaxel222.