Former Whitefish Pilot editor Richard Hensley died Tuesday at his home in Florida. 

Hensley, 55, was the editor and publisher for Highlands Today, an edition of The Tampa Tribune, at the time of his death. Hensley was public about his colon cancer diagnosis and died peacefully in his sleep, the newspaper reported.

Hensley served as editor of the Pilot from February 1993 to August 1995. He said goodbye to the community in a farewell column published in 1995 in the Pilot.

“Whitefish has been good to me,” he wrote at the time. “I can’t think of a finer place to live nor a better place to raise children. Any future places I call home will have a hard time matching up to Whitefish.”

Hensley had a 22-year career in journalism, editing several newspapers including the Daily Journal in Fergus Falls, Minn.; East Oregonian in Pendleton, Ore; and Kansas. He joined Highlands Today in August of 2003 and was a 1993 graduate of Wichita State University.

Nancy Kimball was a reporter at the Pilot during Hensley’s tenure as editor. She said he was always quick with a joke and made the newspaper a family for its staff members, hosting dinners along with his wife, Beth, at their home.

“He was such a friend,” she said. “What I remember most about him was he was a great editor — he always gave you the freedom to go and do your job. He always did the right thing professionally and personally.”

In an article in Highlands Today, current and former colleagues and friends in Florida remembered Hensley for his work ethic, humor and commitment to his family.

“Richard was not only an incredible publisher and editor,” said Brian Burns, publisher of Highlands Today’s parent newspaper the Tampa Tribune, “he was a wonderful human being and a great friend of mine. For those of us that know Richard, we know that he had a work ethic like none other. He was meticulous in his craft and poured his heart and soul into his work on a daily basis. Even as his health declined, Richard was determined to come into the office and put out a great paper.”