U.S. media executive and long-time member of the International Press Institute (IPI) John Frampton McGee died on June 23 at the age of 94.

IPI will remember McGee as an accomplished media executive who was passionate about journalism education and the development of a free press in Africa and Southeast Asia. In 1994, he was part of an IPI mission to South Africa to monitor press freedom violations on the eve of that country’s first free elections after apartheid.

Born in Charleston, South Carolina on Jan. 9, 1923, McGee served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He received several commendations, including two Purple Hearts and a Bronze Star, before returning to his hometown to begin his career in journalism with the Evening Post Publishing Company, publishers of The News and Courier, the largest newspaper in South Carolina.

In 1962, McGee joined the State-Record Company of Columbia, South Carolina, serving in various capacities, including general manager, president and associate publisher, until 1969, when he was named a general executive at Knight Newspapers Inc., in Miami, Florida.

McGee moved to Charleston, West Virginia in 1970 to assume the position of president of Clay Communications, publishers of the Charleston Daily Mail. By the time it was sold to Toronto-based Thomson Newspapers in 1987, it had grown from one daily to a holding company encompassing a range of newspapers and television stations.

McGee served on the board of directors of Thomson Newspapers until his retirement in 1990 and was twice elected to serve on the board of the Associated Press (AP). He also served on the board of directors of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association and was president of both the South Carolina and West Virginia Press Associations.

After his retirement, McGee, accompanied by his wife Ruth, who shared his passion for travelling and education, spent extended periods in Africa developing a practical curriculum and teaching journalism skills to students in Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana.

McGee was a member of the IPI Complaints Commission for Press Freedom in South Africa, an international media monitoring group of over a dozen senior journalists set up by IPI in Johannesburg in 1994 to investigate cases of threats and intimidation against journalists and to ensure the free flow of information in South Africa during the final days of the election campaign.

In Asia, McGee sponsored the development of a basic journalism textbook widely used by students in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar.

In 1991, the McGees established the McGee Foundation to carry out philanthropic work in the United States, Africa and Asia.

A memorial service celebrating John McGee’s life was held in Charleston, West Virginia on Sunday.