Former sports editor Tom Rysinski passes away at his Mississippi home

Former Pahrump Valley Times and Tonopah Times-Bonanza/Goldfield News sports editor Tom Rysinski passed away Saturday at his home in Mississippi.

Rysinski, 56, began writing for both outlets in February 2018, covering sports throughout Nye County, until his departure in 2021 when he moved to Mississippi to write for the Commercial Dispatch.

Rysinski was loved by everyone he worked with and put his heart and soul into his stories when he covered events.

“He was extremely dedicated,” said Zack Plair, managing editor of the Commercial Dispatch. “He was thorough, accurate, ethical. He took a lot of pride in anything he had his name on. He worked his tail off and did all of that for the readers.”

Plair has been Tom’s managing editor at The Dispatch since he moved to Mississippi in July of last year.

Unfortunately, I did not get to meet Tom before he ended his time with the PV Times and Tonopah Times last year. However, after talking with many of my colleagues, two things were common among all of their descriptions of Tom as a person: He was kind and he was funny.

“Tom was always such a humorous, outspoken person and he made our newsroom quite lively while he was here,” said Robin Hebrock, a writer for the Pahrump Valley and Tonopah Times. “He had a wonderful way with words and I know he developed some great relationships with those in the local sports community. I’m sure there are many people here in Pahrump and Nye County who will be devastated to hear that he is gone.”

One thing is for certain: even though Tom may be gone, he will never be forgotten. He made positive impacts on everyone around him.

“He definitely left his mark on the people of Pahrump, and he will be very much missed by his colleagues and locals in Pahrump. It’s a great loss for the journalism community,” said Jeff Meehan, the former managing editor of the Pahrump Valley and Tonopah Times.

Contact Danny Smyth at dsmyth@pvtimes.com. Follow the_dannysmyth on Twitter.