John Fryar, the longtime Colorado reporter whose byline chronicled nearly four decades of city halls, county courthouses and the state Capitol, died July 19 at Berkley Manor Care Center in Denver after a years-long battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. He was 80.

Fryar retired from Prairie Mountain Media in 2022 after nearly 39 years with the company — including the Longmont Times-Call and Daily Camera — concluding a journalism career that spanned five decades. During that time, he became known for his meticulous reporting, fairness and commitment to accuracy.

According to an obituary written by his family, Fryar was comforted in his final weeks by visits and constant prayers from loved ones. Even after retirement, he remained connected with friends, former colleagues and family through daily Facebook posts.

Born May 16, 1946, in Stratton, Neb., Fryar graduated from Scottsbluff High School before earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska in 1969. After attending graduate school at Iowa State University, he began his reporting career at the Des Moines Tribune in 1971, covering police, city and county government.

After the Tribune’s closure in 1982, Fryar taught journalism at the University of Nebraska before joining the Longmont Times-Call in 1983. He went on to spend nearly four decades covering Longmont city government, Boulder County and the General Assembly, producing stories that appeared in the Times-Call and sister newspapers across Colorado.

His family remembered him as “a meticulous reporter and careful writer with a laser focus on the details,” whether covering local government, the police beat or state politics.

When Fryar retired in 2022, Times-Call Editor John Vahlenkamp said his reputation had been built on careful, objective reporting.

“I always could count on John to be fair, to be thorough and to get his facts straight. He put a premium on accuracy, which is something I’ve always appreciated about him,” Vahlenkamp said. “When we needed a reporter to step in to interview a legislator, the governor, a U.S. representative or senator, we turned to John, because he did his homework and always asked relevant, pointed questions.”

Outside the newsroom, Fryar’s greatest passion was reading. His family said his apartment overflowed with books and that trips to Boulder often ended with bags full of new books and magazines.

Rox Laird, Fryar’s brother-in-law, remembered him as a dedicated journalist and loyal friend.

“John was a wonderful man and dedicated to his profession, which was the newspaper business,” Laird said in a phone call on Monday. “He had many, many friends who he kept in touch with over the years, even after retirement. He had a wide circle of good friends. He was a good friend to them, and they were good friends to him.”

Fryar’s brother, the Rev. Tom Fryar, who works as a priest in Denver, described his brother as a “consummate journalist.”

“He’s probably one of the few people I know who, from a very young age, knew what he wanted to do and did it,” he said, noting that his brother knew he wanted to pursue journalism as a career as early as high school.

He remembered his brother as one of the more objective, thorough and insightful reporters that have been around for a long time.

Fryar is survived by his brother; sisters Kristie Becker of Oregon and Teresa Laird of Iowa; Rox Laird and sister-in-law Terri Fryar; and several nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Ann Fryar, and his brother Richard.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at a later date.