F. Al Totter; Publisher of San Gabriel Valley Tribune

F. Al Totter, 66, publisher of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune for a quarter of a century. He began as a classified advertising manager on the paper’s first day of publication in 1955. Totter was named publisher in 1968 when Thomson Newspapers purchased the Tribune, and served until his retirement in 1992. During his tenure, Totter helped lead the paper through a series of expansions that resulted in creation of the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, which includes the Pasadena Star-News and the Whittier Daily News and several small community papers. The company has been owned by Denver-based MediaNews Group since last year. Totter helped arrange the purchase of the Whittier paper by Thomson in 1982 and of the Pasadena paper in 1990. David Dreier (R-San Dimas), who was a longtime friend of Totter, described the publisher as “the conscience of the [San Gabriel] Valley.” A native of Joliet, Ill., Totter studied journalism and advertising and began his career selling advertising for his hometown Herald News. He served in the Air Force during the Korean war. On Monday in West Covina of pneumonia.