The death of a good friend is a difficult enough experience. But imagine going through the entire ordeal-the initial shock, the grieving process, the funeral-with everyone watching and relying on you at every step.

That was Mary Dieter’s life.

It began Sept. 8, 2003, when Indiana Gov. Frank O’Bannon suffered a massive stroke at a trade conference in Chicago. From the moment she knew what had happened, Mary – O’Bannon’s communications director and press secretary – did everything she could to disseminate information to the press as quickly and as regularly as possible.

O’Bannon died five days later, and Mary personally called every member of the state’s press corps with the news. “Some gasped; some cried,” she said.

During the two weeks that passed from O’Bannon’s stroke until his final memorial service, Mary became the de-facto face of the O’Bannon administration. She presided over her first press conference (a common role for presidential press secretaries but rare one for their gubernatorial counterparts), and fielded media requests from across the country.

Mary attributed her poise to her reporting background, which taught her how to work in emotionally difficult situations. In past journalistic roles, she covered the deaths of young adults trampled to death at a concert, interviewed a pregnant woman just after her husband died in a mining accident, and reported on a teenager who shot and killed his father and stepmother.

“I also understand the crap reporters have to go through if press secretaries don’t do their jobs,” she said with a laugh.

Mary’s career in journalism was launched by the Northern Star, much to her surprise. “I never dreamed that they’d hire me,” she said. She quickly moved through the Star’s ranks; from general assignment reporter to editorial writer to city editor and finally editorial editor.

After graduation, Mary worked for Paddock Publications and then the Rockford Morning Star (later known as the Rockford Register Star). She later was hired by The (Louisville) Courier-Journal as its first full-time female employee on the regional desk. She worked there almost 20 years before leaving for Eli Lilly and Company, a pharmaceutical company in Indianapolis, to do public relations work.

After two years at Eli Lilly, Mary became O’Bannon’s press secretary. After his death, she worked for the Indianapolis Private Industry Council Inc. and currently serves as communications director for MySmartGov.org, a nonprofit organization advocating for the overhaul of Indiana’s system of local government.

But even through Mary left the newspaper business for public relations, “My heart will always be in hard news,” she said.

Mary’s husband, Tim McClure, is a retired state trooper and now practices law in an Indianapolis suburb. Their daughter, Amelia McClure, is a student at Kenyon College in Ohio.