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Alfred L. DeBat

Alfred L. DeBat, 76, died of cancer on March 30, in the hospice at the Lutheran Home in Arlington Heights, Ill. He was a resident of Arlington Heights. Fascinated by photography since taking control of his family’s folding Kodak camera when he was 12, DeBat had a long career as an editor of publications including Rogue (an early competitor to Playboy also based in Chicago), DIMA Digital Imaging Digest, Photomethods, and Creative Camera. Both the  Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times featured articles about DeBat’s life.

  DeBat was born in Chicago on Sept. 27, 1931. After graduating from Lane Technical High School, he attended Wright College and then received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Following a stint in the U.S. Army in Germany, he returned to Chicago.

  In the 1970s, DeBat worked for Playboy, first as a photo editor, then overseeing the magazine’s expansion into Europe, Asia, South America and Australia. After Playboy, he worked for many years as an editor of Professional Photographer, a publication of the Professional Photographers Association of America.

  In the 1990s, DeBat began working for PMA publications in a variety of capacities. He was a senior editor of Photo Marketing magazine (now PMA magazine), and was the first editor of  DIMA Digital Imaging Digest newsletter, a PMA publication. In 2004, he was named senior editor of the PMA Prints-Are-Memories website, which also serves as the PMA Editorial Bank.
  DeBat, who was previously divorced, is survived by his companion of 25 years, Marla Kalbhen; daughter, Avril DeBat; brother, Donald Debat; sister, Dorothy Galbraith; two nieces; three nephews; and seven great-nieces and great-nephews. Services were held, and a public celebration is planned for the summer.