GOULDING, JOHN J.

John Joseph (Jack) Goulding, who brought to Los Angeles journalism as he did to life a sardonic but delightful demeanor shrouded in an omnipresent cloud of cigar smoke, died Wednesday [December 18, 1991] at the age of 73.

Goulding, a tough-talking Brooklynite who missed by a generation being one of the colorful newsmen of “The Front Page” fame but seemed a throwback to that brassy time, was an editor at The Times for 21 years.

He had been in failing health since retiring in 1983, about the time his Parkinson’s disease was diagnosed. He died at Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina.

A decorated Marine veteran of World War II, he was part of the elite 1st Marine Raider Battalion, which was decimated during battles at Tulagi, Guadalcanal and New Georgia in the South Pacific.

Goulding came to The Times from the defunct Daily Mirror in 1962 after working earlier for the Honolulu Star Bulletin.

To Goulding–who was the daytime assistant city editor–fell the task of deciding which stories needed to be covered each day and who would report and write them. His unflappable approach to deadlines made him a favored presence in the city room.

His survivors include his wife, Carolyn, a brother, Vincent, six children and two grandchildren, who ask contributions in his name to the Parkinson’s Disease Education Group at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier.

A memorial Mass will be said at St. Bruno Catholic Church in Whittier on Monday at 11 a.m. Private burial will follow.