Sofia Mannos, 70, international print and broadcast journalist

Sofia Mannos, an international print and broadcast journalist and a National Press Club member from 2009 to 2015, died Nov. 29 in Pfaffikon, Switzerland. She was 70.

Mannos suffered a fall in her apartment near DuPont Circle two years ago in which she was initially paralyzed and remained severely handicapped despite intense therapy.

She was a long-time resident of Washington, D.C., who had also lived in Asheville, N.C., and in Paris and other cities in Europe.

She was active in the Club's International Correspondents Committee and Broadcast Committee, where she helped prepare a weekly podcast on Club activities and conducted interviews.

Former Club President Mark Hamrick credited her with being "a tough-minded journalist" with a through knowledge of international affairs.

Former Club President Myron Belkind said she was a "well-loved, vibrant and enthusiastic" contributor to the Club during her membership.

Mannos worked for major news agencies, including The Associated Press, United Press International, CNN and CNN International. Her broadcasts were heard around the world and her writings were circulated globally.

At one time she was network anchor for UPI's wire service radio network, where she worked with Sonya Hillgren, an agricultural correspondent and a future Club president. She won awards in several fields, including coverage of the Gulf War and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Mannos earned a masters degree from the University of North Carolina and studied at Centenary College for Women in Hackettstown, N.J., Finch College in New York and the Sorbonne in Paris.

Although her ancestry was Greek, Mannos, who was fluent in French, described herself as a second generation Francophile following her father's love for that country.

She will be interred in a family grave site at Riverside Historic Cemetery in Asheville. Donations in her name may be made to the Anthony, Frances and Sofia A. Mannos Scholarship for the Study of Music and Letters at the University of North Carolina, One University Heights CPO#3800, Asheville, N.C., 28804, or online.