Donald Robert “D.R.” Segal National media...

Donald Robert “D.R.” Segal

National media mogul Donald Robert “D.R.” Segal, who was more

intimately known around Cameo Shores as the man with the sheepdog,

died Tuesday in his Corona del Mar home. He was 82 and had been ill

with Alzheimer’s disease, family representatives said.

Segal was the former president and chief executive of Freedom

Communications Inc., which owned 28 daily newspapers, including the

Orange County Register, 37 weeklies and eight television stations.

The Irvine-based and privately held company is the 12th largest

newspaper chain in the nation. Officials recently voted against

selling the company, after much in-fighting, and voted to transfer

ownership to the fourth generation of shareholders.

After stepping down from his executive position, Segal remained on

the board as one of a handful of non-family members, although he

represented the Hoiles family interest.

He lived in one of the wealthiest counties in the nation, but

family members said he came from humble beginnings as a newspaper man

and retained his unpretentious personality in light of the societal

influences surrounding him.

“He was very unlike Orange County folk,” son Jonathan Segal said

Tuesday. “He was understanding and unassuming and reticent to get

involved personally. He was involved in civic matters, but not on the

society trail.”

Segal was introduced to Freedom in 1945, when he began reporting

at the Santa Ana Register. After working his way up the ranks, in

various newsrooms around the country, he returned to Orange County as

the company’s chief executive in 1979.

He and his wife lived in the same modest Corona del Mar home for

the past 24 years, where Segal enjoyed to walk his sheepdogs, named

Oliver I, II and III. The journalist known for his wry wit also wrote

a column in the Orange County Register about his canine quests, which

he titled “Adventures with Oliver,” his son said.

“He was irreverent and enjoyed his column and many people knew him

for his column,” Segal said. “He was a good guy and we will certainly

miss him.”

He is survived by wife Kathryn “Kay”; son Jonathan; daughter Janet

Crane; grandchildren Shannon and Sean Crane and Cassie and Chris

Segal.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Pacific View Memorial

Park in Newport Beach. A memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Monday

at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 3233 Pacific View

Drive, Corona del Mar. For more information, call (949) 644-0463.

-- Lolita Harper

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