Former Durham Newspaper Publisher, E.T. Rollins Jr., Dies

By: Edward Tyler Rollins Jr., the former owner and publisher of The Herald-Sun known simply as "E.T." to family and associates, died Sunday following a long illness. He was 84.

Rollins was a member of a family that had been involved in ownership of the newspaper since 1895. The newspaper company was sold in 2005 to Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Ky.

"He shied away from any acceptance of accolades for what the family had done, but he was very proud of the fact that this family-owned newspaper had continued to flourish for so many years," said George Miller Jr., a former state legislator who also was the newspaper's lawyer.

Steed Rollins Jr., nephew of E.T. Rollins, said his uncle cared about employees and ate lunch with them at the newspaper's former downtown office before it moved to a location away from downtown.

"I don't think E.T. really had a mean bone in his body about anything," he said.

Survivors are Rollins' wife of 43 years, Frances P. Rollins of Durham, and two sons, Edward Tyler Rollins III of New York City and William Lawson Rollins of San Francisco.