Former Dallas Times Herald Publisher Dead at 93

[MrMustang1965]

DALLAS -- James F. Chambers Jr., former publisher and chairman of the board of the Dallas Times Herald, died Thursday morning in his sleep at his home. He was 93.

Betty Chambers said her husband loved his newspaper work, from beat reporting to the boardroom.

James F. Chambers was also passionate about his civic contributions, which included serving as president and board member for Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.

"He loved the people he worked with ... and the idea of helping the children," his wife said.

J.C. Montgomery Jr., president of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, said he was deeply saddened by the loss because he thought of Chambers as a second father.

He said he last talked to Chambers last week and that Chambers had lunch at the hospital regularly until about six months ago. Chambers sometimes helped proofread the hospital's newsletters, pointing out things that others had missed because he "still had that feel, even in his 90s," Montgomery said.

"He was a beautiful person," Montgomery told The Associated Press on Friday. "I would ask his advice because he always had great judgment. I think he was so objective because of his newspaper background."

Born in Houston, Chambers grew up in Dallas, and his father wanted him to be an engineer. But after graduating from prep school, he found his passion writing obituaries and short items during a summer job at the Dallas Dispatch. The newspaper's publisher offered him a regular position at summer's end.

Infamous outlaws Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were always an option on a slow news day, he said.

"There was the proverbial report that Clyde and Bonnie had been sighted on the outskirts of town, even though they were really in Oklahoma," Chambers wrote. "This was usually good for a two-column headline on Page 1."

Chambers became city editor of The Dispatch, where he worked for seven years while taking night classes at Southern Methodist University.

In the 1940s, Chambers worked in public relations but in 1944 returned to newspapers as executive news editor of the Dallas Times Herald. He was named vice president and general manager in 1952. He became president in 1960 and publisher seven years later.

The Times Herald and The Dallas Morning News were in a competitive battle for Dallas readers, but there were many friendships across the battle lines, Chambers had said.

He retired in 1980 from the Times Herald, which published its last edition in 1991.

In addition to his wife, Chambers is survived by a son, James Chambers III of Dallas; a daughter, Valerie Boyer of Dallas; a sister, Mary Jane Honea of Dallas; four grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren.

A funeral service was set for Monday at Highland Park United Methodist Church.