Paul Henry Fell Jr., the editorial cartoonist who became a fixture in Nebraska journalism for more than five decades, died on June 28, 2026. He was 80 years old. Private family services will be held, per his wishes.
Fell was born on January 8, 1946, in Massachusetts, but his life took a westward turn when he headed to Peru State College in Nebraska to study art and play football. He never really left.
Nebraska became home, and though he joked that people back East were “all crazy” and “talk funny,” those who knew him understood the affection behind the ribbing.
Before cartooning became his full-time calling, Fell worked as a high school art teacher and coach, and later as a college art professor. By January 1974, his cartoons were being distributed by Maverick Media to small Nebraska newspapers.
Two years later, his work began appearing in The Lincoln Journal, the paper that would define much of his career.
In 1984, the Journal hired him as a staff editorial cartoonist and art director, a position he held until 1992, when budget cuts forced layoffs.
Rather than fade from the scene, Fell went freelance and launched his self-syndicated Paul Fell Cartoons, continuing to reach Journal readers and audiences across Nebraska and beyond.
Around the same time, he briefly gained national attention as a “radio cartoonist,” an unusual distinction that suited his creative restlessness.
A Career Built on Honesty, Humor, and Nebraska Pride
His freelance relationship with the Lincoln Journal continued until 2007, when it ended after he made a donation to a political campaign, which the paper said violated its ethics policy for contributors.
Fell was direct about his feelings on the matter, noting that the paper had never shared that policy with its freelancers.
It was a dispute that revealed something essential about him: he valued transparency and said what he thought, even when it cost him.
Throughout his career, Fell drew with a clean, stylized hand and a progressive political outlook. He also celebrated Nebraska’s sports culture, particularly his beloved Huskers.
He taught in the art department at the University of Nebraska at Kearney and ran his own cartooning and illustration studio in Lincoln.
He was fond of saying he was amazed he could make a living doing the very thing that had gotten him into trouble as a schoolboy.
Fellow cartoonists remembered him as someone who made a point of welcoming newcomers into the profession. Multiple colleagues recalled how Fell sought them out at their first conventions, offered coffee, shared stories, and made them feel at home.
Wiley Miller, a friend of nearly four decades, described him as “the epitome of a good, honest man.” Others called him a sweetheart, a gentleman, and one of the finest people in the business.
His final message to a close friend was simple: “It’s been a fun ride.”
Fell is survived by his wife, Arlene. Those wishing to honor his memory may contribute to the Paul and Arlene Fell Scholarship at Peru State College.
