Local 4 sends condolences to family of Jeff Zaslow

DETROIT, Mich. – A well known and highly respected member of our Metro Detroit community has died.

Longtime Wall Street Journal columnist and best-selling author Jeffrey Zaslow was killed in a car accident Friday morning, he was 53.

Zaslow was on his way home to Metro Detroit, after a speaking engagement Thursday night in Petoskey, when he lost control of his car on a snowy road and collided with a truck.  The condition of the truck driver is unknown.

Zaslow is the husband of WJBK-TV/FOX 2 anchor Sherry Margolis.  The couple has three daughters.

Jeffrey Zaslow was a regular columnist in the Wall Street Journal, where his writings focused on life experiences.

Recently, he became one of America's best-selling nonfiction writers.  His books include "The Girls from Ames" and "The Last Lecture."   Last year he collaborated with Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, on their memoir, "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope," following the congresswoman's shooting.  He also authored "Highest Duty," about airline captain Chesley Sullenberger, who safely landed a damaged jetliner in the Hudson River in New York.  His latest work, "The Magic Room: A Story About the Love We Wish for our Daughters," is set in Fowler, Michigan at a bridal store where he looked at American weddings.

For years Zaslow also gave advice to readers as a columnist at the Chicago Sun-Times.  He  succeeded Ann Landers after winning a competition for the position.

He was twice named best columnist by the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and in 2000 he received its Will Rogers Humanitarian Award.

In a statement to Wall Street Journal staff, editor Robert Thomson said: "Jeff's writing, for the Journal and in his books, has been a source of inspiration for many people around the world and his journalistic life has been a source of inspiration for all journalists."

ClickonDetroit.com and Local 4 extends its condolences to our colleague and their family.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Sherry, and their three daughters during this painful time.

Arrangements for Jeffrey Zaslow will be handled by Ira Kaufman Chapel in Southfield.