Ganey, Terrence Joseph

Terry J. Ganey, an award-winning investigative journalist who for three decades exposed wrongdoing in Missouri’s state capital, died Friday, Dec. 26, 2025, of cancer at his home in St. Louis. He was 77 and a husband, father and grandfather.

As chief of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch news bureau in Jefferson City, provided insightful and thorough coverage of state government and politics. His work could be the bane of politicians. A governor’s chief of staff once climbed out his office window to avoid Ganey’s questions.

In 1992, Ganey wrote a series of stories about an obscure state program known as the Second Injury Fund that paid settlements to injured workers. The fund was defended by part-time attorneys hired by the state Attorney General.

He disclosed how some assistants filed claims for themselves. One lawyer received a $40,000 settlement claiming work injuries from carrying his brief case. Ganey’s reporting helped send seven men to prison, produced $1.6 million in restitution and made him one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting.

Ron Kucera, a former official with the Department of Natural Resources, said Ganey “was the best investigative reporter that I ever worked with.” Former Gov. Jay Nixon once said of Ganey, “We were all afraid of that guy.”

In addition to his newspaper work, Ganey was an author or co-author of nonfiction books. His true crime narrative “St. Joseph’s Children, a true story of terror and justice,” recounted the case of an innocent man who went to prison for a crime committed by a serial killer. The paperback version, retitled “Innocent Blood,” appeared on the New York Times’ bestseller list.

With fellow reporter Peter Hernon, Ganey co-authored “Under the Influence: The Unauthorized Story of the Anheuser-Busch Dynasty,” which spent eight weeks on the Times’ bestseller list. Ganey was the collaborating writer with U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill on her political memoir, “Plenty Ladylike.”

Terrence J. “Terry” Ganey was born March 31, 1948, in East St. Louis to Thomas and Thelma Ganey. He attended St. Henry’s Preparatory Seminary in Belleville before graduating from Assumption High School in East St. Louis, where he once held the school record in the 440-yard dash (52.8 seconds.)

He earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville and a master’s in journalism from the University of Missouri. His master’s thesis, “Saigon to Baghdad: Comparing Combat Correspondents’ Experiences in Vietnam and Iraq,” developed from his time embedded with a U.S. Army unit in Iraq in 2003.

In 1970, Ganey married Judith Marie Christiansen, also of East St. Louis.

Ganey began his career as a news broadcaster at WIBV radio in Belleville and joined the Associated Press in St. Louis in 1972. He became the AP’s capital correspondent in Jefferson City in 1975 before joining the Post-Dispatch two years later.

He served in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Ganey retired from the Post-Dispatch in 2005 and worked at the Columbia Daily Tribune. He taught news writing at the Missouri School of Journalism and was a contributor to the Gateway Journalism Review.

In addition to his wife, Judy, survivors include three children: David (Gina) Ganey of St. Louis, Tim (Gretchen) Ganey of Portland, Ore., and Colleen Ganey of Kansas City; six grandchildren: Addison Ganey, Camila DiGregorio, Haley Ganey, Atticus Ganey, Ronan Ganey, and Vivien Ganey; and two brothers and two sisters.

The family thanks the BJC/Missouri Baptist Hospital doctors and nurses who helped Terry through his illness.

Visitation and a prayer service will be held at Kutis Affton Chapel, 10151 Gravois Road on January 18, 2026, from 2:00-7:00 with a prayer service starting at 6:30. There will be a celebration of life at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the AP Fund for Journalism, https://www.apfj.org/donate/, or the American Cancer Society, cancer.org or to the charity of the donor’s choice. (-30-)