POCATELLO — Idaho State Journal columnist and reporter Michael H. O’Donnell has died.

O’Donnell, 63, was found dead in his Pocatello home Monday afternoon. Authorities said he died from an apparent heart attack.

O’Donnell was the assistant managing editor of the Journal for several years before retiring in 2016. Even though he was retired, he still wrote a weekly column and news stories for the Journal.

Prior to working for the Journal, O’Donnell was a teacher at Blackfoot High School. And before that he was the editor of the Morning News newspaper in Blackfoot and the Power County Press newspaper in American Falls.

O’Donnell won dozens of journalism awards over the years for his writing.

His childhood was spent in Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa and Canada. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Iowa State University. Then he earned his master’s degree in instructional technology at Idaho State University.

He is survived by his wife Jody. They were married for 44 years.

Ian Fennell, editor of the Idaho State Journal, said O’Donnell’s death came as a shock to the Journal’s staff.

“I had just talked to him on Sunday and he was really enjoying retirement and had a lot of plans for the future,” Fennell said. “Mike was a great writer who cared a lot about people and his community. There were times I can remember when he broke down into tears over a particularly sad story he was covering. There were a lot of times when his columns or his stories would choke me up. He had a talent for capturing the human condition in his writing and relaying that to the readers. That’s what I’ll remember most about him.”

Information about O’Donnell’s funeral services will be provided Wednesday.