Doug Lawhead, a computer and LAN specialist in the College of Arts and Humanities, who also taught photojournalism classes in the journalism department, was pronounced dead at 12:23 p.m. Thursday, officials said. 

While at the Java Beanery & Bakery in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, Lawhead, 59, suffered an apparent heart attack and was given CPR by another staff member until paramedics arrived.

Lawhead taught at Eastern for 15 years in the journalism department while serving as the Apple Ambassador of the EIU Apple Users Group. 

Lawhead graduated from Eastern in 1997 with a Board of Governors bachelor’s degree and later got his master’s degree in technology. 

Before coming to Eastern, Lawhead worked at the Robinson Daily News as a reporter and photographer and at the Mattoon Journal Gazette and Charleston Times-Courier.

Booth Library publications editor and journalism instructor Beth Heldebrandt began working at the Mattoon Journal Gazette and Charleston Times-Courier the same day as Lawhead in January 1990. Heldebrandt worked as a night editor while Lawhead was a photographer. 

“He was always a very energetic guy and was easy to get along with,” she said. 

Journalism professor Brian Poulter will be taking over Lawhead’s Introduction to Visual Communication class, which meets at 4 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. 

James Tidwell, chairman of the journalism department, said Lawhead came to the journalism department at the right time—a time the students needed him most.

Tidwell and Lawhead knew each other for 25 years.

“We were having trouble with (technical) support,” Tidwell said. “At one point, the journalism students actually signed a petition and presented it to (the dean) at the time.”

The petition was asking the journalism department to fix the computer glitches that occurred after the department moved back to Buzzard Hall, Tidwell said. 

As a photojournalist and a computer expert, Lawhead was the best of both worlds, Tidwell said. 

“Being a photographer (and) journalist, Doug was perfect,” Tidwell said. “If you had a problem with a computer, he could find the solution.”

Dan Crews, the director of patron services at the Doudna Fine Arts Center, said Lawhead was a vital part of the College of Arts and Humanities, and he was known for his little cracks, quips and stories.

Lawhead had a passion for flying planes, World War II and photography.

Only the other day, Crews said, he was talking to Lawhead about Celebration: Festival of the Arts, where for the last four to five years, Lawhead was an art vendor, selling his photography during the spring festival. 

“We are shocked by his death,” Crews said.

Jay Grabiec, 27, who attended Eastern from 2003-2007, said he and Lawhead had a relationship based on a mutual love of photography, although he never took a class that Lawhead taught.

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“He always had a story for you—sometimes it was kind of hard to get away from him because he talked so much, but it was really nice to always have someone to talk to,” Grabiec said. “I always had a lot of questions for him, and he always had a lot of ideas.”

Recently, Grabiec and Lawhead collaborated on a project on campus after Grabiec ran into some obstacles.

“We were working on a microphotography project here at Eastern—trying to photograph some microscopy slides,” Grabiec said. “We were able to get done what we needed to get done.”

Grabiec is an online specialist for Eastern.

Blair Lord, provost and the vice president for academic affairs, said Lawhead was an asset on Eastern’s campus as the administrator of Macintosh computers in the College of Arts and Humanities, as well as an Eastern community member.

“We were fortunate to have Mr. Lawhead, an award-winning photojournalist, teach several classes in our journalism department and assist with its summer workshops,” Lord said in a written statement. 

Stephen Haas, a 2005 Eastern journalism graduate, said when he came to Eastern in 2002 he got close to the only two professors who teach photojournalism—Lawhead and Poulter. Haas had Poulter for class but said he was able to form a relationship with Lawhead.

“I shoot Canon, and he shoots Nikon so I used to give him crap about that, (but) looking through his old portfolio, I know he worked hard,” Haas said.

Lawhead’s work ethic is something Grabiec said he also admired about him.

“He has been able to do it for such a long time and still find new things that he felt passionate about,” he said. “He will really be missed…Doug was really instrumental in a lot of different ways on campus.”

Lawhead is survived by his wife, Marcia and their two sons.

Marcia Lawhead works at Eastern as the secretary to Rob Miller, Eastern’s general counsel.

Tim Deters and Elizabeth Edwards also contributed to this article.