People in the Saskatoon arts and media communities were in mourning Thursday as news spread that Cam Fuller, long-time arts editor at the Saskatoon StarPhoenix, died Wednesday afternoon.
Fuller worked as a reporter, and later as an editor and humour columnist at the newspaper for nearly 30 years.
“We’ve been looking back through his work and if you read Cam Fuller, you’re really reading a history of the arts community over the last 25 years in the city,” said StarPhoenix Editor-In-Chief Heather Persson. “In his columns, he just had a way of showing us who we are as a community—both good and bad.”
Fuller was born and raised in Saskatoon. He was a graduate of the School of Journalism at the University of Regina. He leaves behind his twin sons, Joseph and William and his wife, Donella Hoffman.
Fuller is best known for his reviews and columns but Persson says he was also talented in other roles in the newsroom.
“I don’t know if everyone knows what an amazing editor he was,” she said. “He really took young journalists under his wing and made their work shine.”
One reporter who worked alongside Fuller said the same in an interview Thursday. Britainy Zapshalla, an arts columnist, said she learned the ropes from Fuller.
“He was an institution in Saskatoon and Saskatchewan in the arts scene,” said Zapshalla. “We knew what shows to see because of Cam. We knew what we would enjoy. And we would always have a great laugh because he wrote really funny, witty opinion pieces in the paper. He just felt like family.”
Fuller suffered from ulcerative colitis and was in need of a liver transplant. According to his wife in a Facebook post, he became too sick to endure the surgery.
No word yet on funeral arrangements.
