Former Greenville News editorial page editor, Tom Inman, dies

Thomas P. Inman, a longtime editorial page editor for The Greenville News who was known for holding government officials accountable, has died.

Inman, who served as the editorial page editor from 1980-2000, died early Sunday, according to an obituary posted by Mackey Funerals and Cremations.

A native of North Carolina, Inman had been the editorial page editor of The News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina and editor of The Hickory (N.C.) Daily Record before joining The Greenville News as editorial page editor in 1980.

He'd been hired by Rhea Eskew and appointed to succeed long-time editor Jim McKinney, Bern Mebane, a former Greenville News publisher, said in an email.

He did a "superb job," said former Greenville News publisher Steve Brandt in an email.

He had a broad and deep understanding of politics — national, state and local, Brandt said.

"Public officials who came to the newspaper for editorial board meetings with Tom and his staff knew to be prepared.  He had a keen intellect and was a lucid writer," Brandt said. "This all made for editorials that got to the heart of issues, making clear the newspaper’s position without being dismissive of other points of view."

On a personal note, Brandt said, "working with Tom was an education for a new publisher, and I am grateful to him for his patience and instruction."

Mebane said Inman was "a great mentor" for him and Brandt, "carefully pointing out that the page was to be a cafeteria of different opinions and thoughts, not a mouthpiece for a single ideology or political party."

Inman was 66 when he announced his retirement plans in 1999. At that time, he agreed to return to the newspaper in a part-time writing role following  brief sabbatical.

Inman was succeeded as editorial page by Beth Padgett, who had been the deputy editor of the Opinion page for The Greenville News. 

Padgett said via email that Inman had been "a strong voice for holding government accountable and ensuring that elected and appointed officials truly served the people."

"He was a fierce advocate of open government and consistently championed the right of citizens to know what their government was doing on their behalf," Padgett said in the email.

Inman served on the Greenville County Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, also called the Phoenix Center, in the early 2000s, a time when the organization faced a public dispute over how taxpayer money was being spent on drug and alcohol treatment.

Inman was also renowned as "a talented writer" who routinely won top awards for his editorials and columns, Padgett said.

"In his last years as editorial page editor, he started the work to better connect the editorial page to its readers and the community by opening editorial page daily meetings to the public and inviting readers and public officials in for lunches," she said. "He set high standards for the editorial page of The Greenville News."

Greenville Mayor Knox White said in an email that as an elected official, he knew Inman for well over 20 plus years.

He described Inman as "tough but fair."

"Tom had a deep knowledge and love of Greenville that informed his editorial work. He believed asking questions and always cutting to the chase," White said. "The public was always the beneficiary of his work."