ZELL DRAZ, 78 Family had owned Warren newspaper

Zell Draz of Concord, Mass. was associate publisher of the Warren Tribune Chronicle for seven years.
WARREN -- Zell Draz, 78, of Concord, Mass., former associate publisher of the Warren Tribune Chronicle, died Thursday at her home.
Draz was born March 27, 1923, in Cleveland.
She was associate publisher of the newspaper, running it for seven years until it was sold to the Ingersoll Publications Group in 1986.
Before it was sold, the newspaper had been owned by her family for more than a century, with Helen Hart Hurlbert having been its publisher since 1936. Mrs. Hurlbert died in 1987 at 94.
After a 16-month legal battle, Hurlbert and Draz announced in March 1979 that they had resolved their struggle for control of the Warren Tribune Co.
The settlement transferred executive authority to Draz by expanding the board of directors from three to five seats. The revamped board consisted of Draz, two directors of her choice, Hurlburt and a director of her choosing, with Hurlbert remaining as company president and board chairwoman.
Honors: Draz was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1985 for her achievements in human services and arts and letters.
In 1986, she was honored by the Trumbull County Historical Society for her strong support of society programs and the relocation of the Edwards house. She was board president of the Children's Rehabilitation Center in Howland.
After being sold to Ingersoll in 1986, The Tribune Chronicle was sold to Thompson Newspapers Corp. in 1990 and to Ogden Newspapers of Wheeling, W.Va., in 1998.
Draz leaves three sons, all of Massachusetts. Arrangements will be in Massachusetts.
City officials say there will be a memorial service in Warren in late September.
"I bought my home next to her mom's and she very often visited her mother," said Mayor Hank Angelo. "The devotion that she showed to her mom always impressed me. I also enjoyed working with her when I was in politics. Her representation of the city was always positive."