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A loss for the SEPTA family
Topic Started: May 13 2008, 12:17 PM (326 Views)
rider65
Advanced Transit Fan
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James T. Whitaker Jr., 56, SEPTA spokesman
By Sally A. Downey

Inquirer Staff Writer

James T. Whitaker Jr., 56, of Lawnside, chief press officer for SEPTA, died of complications from a liver transplant on May 6 at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia.
Mr. Whitaker joined SEPTA as a press relations officer in 1982. Before that he had worked in commuter relations for Conrail for five years.

Whenever there were breakdowns or delays, he was SEPTA's spokesman, his son Cord said. When there was a blizzard and most people stayed home, he went to work to update the public and media about train, trolley, and bus service, his son said.

"Jim spent his career at SEPTA working with the news media, a job that requires nerves of steel in this market," said Richard Maloney, director of public affairs at the transit agency.

"Jim cherished his professional credibility and conducted himself with great personal dignity and a wonderful sense of humor," Maloney said.

Mr. Whitaker was diagnosed with a rare liver and bile-duct disease four years ago. He continued to work until his transplant in April.

A native of South Philadelphia, Mr. Whitaker graduated from Central High School and earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Temple University.

Since 1974, he had been married to Sharon Easley Whitaker. They grew up in the same neighborhood. After they moved to Camden County from South Philadelphia in 1986, their son said, they kept ties to both places. He and his wife cultivated a plot in a South Philadelphia community garden and gardened at home in Lawnside. He also was a Cub Scout den leader in Lawnside.

Mr. Whitaker was a writer with a passion for clear, concise communication, his son said. "He had shelves and shelves and boxes of books," his son said.

He especially admired the novels of James Baldwin and enjoyed Westerns and art films, sometimes attending several movies in a week.

In addition to his wife and son, Mr. Whitaker is survived by his father, James T. Whitaker Sr.; and son Thomas.

The funeral will be at 11 a.m. Thursday at Zion AME Church, 1600 St. 21st St., Philadelphia. Friends may call at 9 a.m. Burial will be in Eden Cemetery in Collingdale.

Memorial donations may be made to the Temple University School of Communications and Theater Scholarship Fund, Office of Institutional Advancement, 1938 Liacouras Walk, Philadelphia 19122.
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