Del Rio Mourns IRE Executive Director DeeDee Fuentes at Hometown Funeral

IRE staff, board members, and journalists from across the country gathered in Del Rio on Saturday to say farewell to Diana R. "DeeDee" Fuentes, the executive director of Investigative Reporters & Editors who had spent years leading the Del Rio News-Herald and whose death nine days earlier in Washington, D.C. sent shock through newsrooms nationwide.

Fuentes, who had more than 35 years of experience in journalism, died March 20 while attending a FOIA conference tied to Sunshine Week, the annual celebration of open government and press freedom. An autopsy determined the cause was a blunt force injury to the head due to an accidental fall. Her last text to an IRE colleague, sent in the days before she died, mentioned a training session she was looking forward to attending.

A native of Laredo and a Nixon High School graduate, Fuentes built her career one Texas city at a time. She spent seven years as editor of the Laredo Morning Times before spending another seven as deputy metro editor at the San Antonio Express-News. She later became editor and publisher of the Del Rio News-Herald, forging the connection that brought mourners to Val Verde County on Saturday. She also served as managing editor of the Beaumont Enterprise and taught journalism at both the University of Missouri-Columbia and Texas State University, where she recently earned her master's degree.

IRE appointed Fuentes executive director in April 2021, making her the first person of color to lead the 6,000-member organization. She guided IRE through the COVID-19 pandemic and its 50th anniversary, and under her leadership the organization maintained roughly 30 percent journalists of color among its membership at a time of widespread newsroom layoffs. "We have a constitutionally protected right, and a deep responsibility, to keep the people informed, and we will not stop," she once declared.

IRE Board President Josh Hinkle said Fuentes "made a deep impact on open government" and was "committed to a free and robust press and the people's right to know," adding that "her warmth created an inviting atmosphere at IRE." Board Vice President Kate Howard reflected on her reach beyond the executive role: "Diana was a great journalist in her own right, but through her work and mentorship, she inspired and supported countless acts of impactful journalism."

Tributes came from across the profession. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists, which inducted Fuentes into its Hall of Fame in 2022, said she "mentored and inspired Latino and women journalists for decades, beginning in Texas newsrooms and continuing nationwide." The National Association of Black Journalists called her "a giant in the spaces she occupied" and "fiercely passionate about press freedom, diversity and elevating the voices of journalists of color." The San Antonio Association of Hispanic Journalists, an organization Fuentes helped launch, said her "legacy will continue in everyone she influenced."

Two days after her death, on March 22, IRE's Board of Directors convened an emergency meeting and voted to nominate Fuentes for the IRE Ring of Honor, established in 2022 to recognize significant contributions to investigative journalism. Organizers are raising $2,500 to support the nomination; additional funds will go toward an IRE training fund in her name. Inductees will be honored at the IRE Conference awards luncheon on June 20.

Fuentes was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond A. Gomez Jr., and her parents, Leonel and Armandina Fuentes. She is survived by nieces, nephews, and in-laws across Texas. The family is requesting donations to an endowment in her name at Texas State University in lieu of flowers. A memorial is planned in San Antonio on April 12.