COVID-19

Family, friends, and colleagues are mourning the death of Alan Finder, a longtime editor at the New York Times, who died Tuesday from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. “I hope he knew how well regarded and well respected he was by so many colleagues, and how many people felt really strongly about him,” his daughter, Lauren Drucker, said in a phone call with BuzzFeed News on Wednesday. “His reach was much further and wider than his family really realized.”

Above all else, Drucker said her dad was a man of “integrity” who lived by a strong set of principles from which he never wavered.

“He definitely felt that putting others first was really important, and certainly valued family and friends, and I think he really showed an interest in people,” she said.

Finder loved music, books, and good food and wine. He liked to travel, attend concerts, garden, and work in the yard — “even though he complained about it a lot,” his daughter said.

“He thought of himself as somewhat of a gourmet chef. He really loved my mom a lot,” she added.