Rob Borsellino (June 20, 1949 – May 27, 2006) was a newspaper columnist who worked for the ''

Des Moines Register ''The Des Moines Register'' is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa. History Early period The first newspaper in Des Moines was the ''Iowa Star''. In July 1849, Barlow Granger began the paper in an abandoned log cabin by the junction ...

''. His columns, which appeared three times weekly, became popular due to Borsellino's colloquial writing style and ability to tell a story straight from the heart. His columns appeared several times in such publications as ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', and a compilation of Borsellino's columns were published in his 2005 book ''So I'm Talkin' To This Guy...'' (). In November 2004, Borsellino was diagnosed with

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

(ALS), or

Lou Gehrig's disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...

. He announced his diagnosis in February 2005. During his fight against this illness, he had considerable community support, and on April 21, 2006, musicians

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

and

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American country music singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Haggard was born in Oildale, California, toward the end of the Great Depression. His childhood was troubled af ...

traveled to Des Moines to perform a concert in Borsellino's honor, raising over $100,000 for th
ALS Association
Borsellino died in Des Moines on May 27, 2006. He is survived by his wife, Rekha Basu, also a ''Register'' columnist; and his sons Raj and Romen.

External links

Rob Borsellino at ''The Des Moines Register''
1949 births 2006 deaths American columnists Writers from Des Moines, Iowa Deaths from motor neuron disease Neurological disease deaths in Iowa {{US-journalist-1940s-stub