Dorothy Roe

Dorothy Roe Lewis (May 18, 1904 – March 24, 1985) was an American newspaper editor and journalist. She was a syndicated columnist and the women's editor for the Associated Press for nineteen years.

Early life Roe was born on May 18, 1904, in Alba, Missouri. Her parents were Daniel and Anna Tibbs Roe. She attended school in Webb City, where she served as the art editor for the school yearbook in her senior year. She planned to study education at university and become a teacher but she was influenced by her English teacher, Henrietta Crotty, to apply for a scholarship to become a writer instead. Roe graduated as salutatorian in 1921 and received a scholarship to study journalism at the University of Missouri, graduating in 1924. While at the university, she was a reporter for the Columbia Missourian. The couple bought The Burlington Daily Enterprise in New Jersey, although the paper ultimately failed. They lived in Pound Ridge, New York, and although in 1940, Roe began working as the assistant women's editor for King Features Syndicate in Manhattan, she continued to commute. During her career, Roe also served as a judge of the Penney-Missouri Awards. Roe and Lewis moved to Long Island in 1958.

In 1960, Roe retired from the AP and started teaching at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She also wrote a regular column for the Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate. She retired from teaching in 1974 but continued to edit the Columbia Missourian until 1980. She continued to freelance until her death. Her career at the AP was described by the journalist Dean Earl English as "a breakthrough for women in journalism. She was the most successful pioneer in the field of women's Page 4 news."

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