James A. O'Connor, 86, a longtime Inquirer copy editor

James Arthur O'Connor, 86, an editor at The Inquirer for 29 years, died Thursday, Jan. 27, of complications from a stroke at Granville House, an assisted-living facility in Burlington Township.

Mr. O'Connor was a copy reader at the Toronto Telegram and a book reviewer at the Vancouver Sun before joining the Detroit News in 1951. The next year he married Henrietta Case, an artist. They had been introduced by her father and two brothers, who worked with Mr. O'Connor on the copy desk.

In 1960, the Detroit News changed ownerships, and the staff was fired. The New York Times offered Mr. O'Connor a position, but his wife didn't want to move to New York, said his stepson, Will Case.

Instead, Mr. O'Connor joined The Inquirer, and he and his family settled in Willingboro.

Mr. O'Connor edited The Inquirer's auto page and assisted with the editing of the business section. From 1979 until he retired in 1989, he was a copy editor on the foreign and national desks. Colleagues remembered he always had a fresh pot of coffee available.

"Jim was a hard and nimble worker. His copy was clean, and he wasted no time," said Charles Knittle, a former supervisor, who now works as metro copy chief at the New York Times. "If pressed to go deeper into a story, or to try again on a headline, he responded with gruff good cheer and great results. In this way, Jim and I worked together on big stories, including the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger and President Reagan's reelection campaign, the one in which he stumbled memorably during his debate with Walter Mondale."

"Though he pretended otherwise, Jim adapted gracefully to changes in the newsroom." Knittle said. "He had a wealth of experience and offered much wisdom and good cheer to his younger colleagues."

A native of Parry Sound, Ontario, Mr. O'Connor attended Queen's College in Kingston, Ontario.

As an adolescent, he severely injured his right leg playing ice hockey, and growth in the leg was stunted. He had to wear a lift in his shoe and walked with a limp.

He was a stubborn Irishman and didn't give in to his limitations, his stepson said. He learned to play the flute when he could no longer play hockey and drove a car with his left foot.

A voracious reader, Mr. O'Connor would take 20 books out of the library at a time and read three a day.

He was a Phillies fan and, because he worked nights, was able to watch his favorite TV show, American Bandstand, Case said.

Mr. O'Connor's wife died in an auto accident in 1999. In addition to his stepson, he is survived by a stepdaughter, Charlotte Case, and a brother, Tom.

A funeral service was held Monday, Jan. 31, at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Burlington City. Burial was in the churchyard.

Memorial donations may be made to St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 145 W. Broad St., Burlington, N.J. 08016.