James E. Dougherty, St. Joe's professor, arms-control expert

James E. Dougherty, 89, of Coatesville, an expert on nuclear arms control who taught at St. Joseph's University for 51 years, died Sunday, Oct. 21, at the Visiting Nurse Association hospice at Falls Center in Philadelphia of kidney failure and complications from several chronic conditions.

A Philadelphia native, Mr. Dougherty enlisted in the Army after graduating from North Catholic High School in 1942.

After serving in Europe during World War II, Mr. Dougherty took advantage of the GI Bill to enroll at what was then St. Joseph's College. He wanted to major in English, but the only slot available for him was in the politics department.

Mr. Dougherty took it - and never looked back, recalled his daughter Christina Dougherty Dolan.

"It was a world he had never known, and once it opened up to him, he never wanted to leave it," Dolan said.

Mr. Dougherty, who earned graduate degrees at Fordham University and the University of Pennsylvania, taught international relations and political science at St. Joseph's. He started as an assistant professor in 1951 and was a full professor from 1963 to 1991 and a professor emeritus and scholar in residence until 2002.

In Germany, Mr. Dougherty met a young drama student who was a refugee from Hungary. He married Maria Kiss in 1950, and they had two sons and two daughters.

Dolan said her father loved to teach. In 1995, at 72, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to teach comparative politics at Kossuth Lajos University in Debrecen, Hungary.

When he moved to Freedom Village in Coatesville, he started continuing-education courses for residents and taught history and philosophy.

"You could never walk away without learning something from him," Dolan said.

From 1981 to 1989, Mr. Dougherty served as the U.S. representative to the U.N. Advisory Board on Disarmament.

In addition to his daughter, Mr. Dougherty is survived by a son, Peter; a daughter, M. Susan Burke; a sister; and nine grandchildren. His wife died last year.

A viewing for family and friends will be 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 24, at Clare McIlvaine Mundy Funeral Home, 7384 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia. A second viewing will be at 9 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, followed by a Funeral Mass at 10, at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 819 Cathedral Rd., Philadelphia.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Catholic Relief Services, 228 W. Lexington St., Baltimore, Md. 20201, or the Scholarship Fund of Freedom Village at Brandywine, 15 Freedom Blvd., Coatesville, Pa. 19320.