James C. McConnon, a patent lawyer who was SEPTA chairman, dies at 93

James C. McConnon, 93, formerly of Wynnewood, a Philadelphia patent lawyer who was chairman of SEPTA for a decade, died Monday, March 16, of cardiopulmonary failure at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Trained as both a lawyer and a mechanical engineer, Mr. McConnon rose to power through his position as chairman of the Republican Party in Lower Merion. He was appointed to the SEPTA board in the mid-1960s and was chairman of the regional mass-transit agency from 1968 to 1978.

During that time, he pushed to improve the rolling stock by ordering 100 new buses and settled a transit workers’ strike by giving small pay hikes to drivers. He was often quoted in local newspapers, vying in the early years with then-Philadelphia Mayor James H. Tate.

“He dealt with unions, politicians, everybody from the officials to the people who operated the vehicles,” said his son James Jr. “A lot of people respected him for that.”

Born in Pittsburgh to Myles and Myra Steel McConnon, he graduated from Pittsburgh’s Central Catholic High School at age 16.

During World War II, he enlisted in the V-12 Navy College Training Program, graduating from Cornell University at the war’s end with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering. He then earned a degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

In 1959, he joined the Philadelphia law firm of Paul & Paul, where he practiced intellectual property law for 60 years. He liked nothing better than to spar with an opponent in a sharply worded legal brief, said Paul & Paul lawyer Alex R. Sluzas.

“When I joined the firm 34 years ago, ‘Mr. McConnon,’ as we all always referred to him, was already the senior partner in the firm,” Sluzas said in an email. “He was a tenacious, very thoughtful litigator, and a skilled and convincing speaker.

“My first courtroom assignment with him was a conference in a federal judge’s chambers. After listening to his opponent’s argument, the judge asked him for a response. Mr. McConnon demurred. Afterwards, he explained that you never try to make your case when your opponent is making it for you.”

For many years, Mr. McConnon chaired the Lower Merion Republican Party, and his influence in GOP politics encompassed Montgomery County.

His leadership style was to think through a problem as if it were a puzzle, and to release his solution for others to critique. At SEPTA, he pushed to help Philadelphia and the surrounding counties get their fair share of transit funds. He felt the public should be able to travel in an affordable, seamless way.

After his service with SEPTA, Mr. McConnon returned to his law practice. He tried his last case at age 90. “He was sharp as a tack,” his son said.

Mr. McConnon married Nancy Kern in 1953. They raised three children in Narberth, where he was choir director at St. Margaret Church. Later, the family moved to Wynnewood.

Despite being away on business a lot, Mr. McConnon was a good father, his son said. He brought the family together for gatherings in Cape May and holidays in the Philadelphia area.

In 1998, he fulfilled a promise to his mother, Myra, to locate and bring back the remains of his brother, Lt. John McConnon. A navigator on a B-24 bomber, John McConnon was shot down over Albania in 1944, while returning from an Allied bombing mission, and was listed as missing in action.

“My dad promised his dying mother he would do his best to find Johnny,” his son said. “He never forgot.” Mr. McConnon found a press account of the plane crash and hired an investigator who located a witness and a piece of the plane’s fuselage in an Albanian home.

Lt. McConnon’s bones, and a distinctive belt buckle he had been wearing, were disinterred and sent to Hawaii for identification. The remains were returned to Pittsburgh and buried beside the grave of his mother.

Afterward, Mr. McConnon gave speeches to the families of missing military personnel. “ ‘You may have lost a loved one, but don’t give up, you can find them,’ ” he said, according to his son.

Mr. McConnon’s wife, Nancy, died in 2011. Besides his son, he is survived by daughters Linda McConnon and Nancy Esposito; three grandchildren; and a great-granddaughter.

A life celebration will be held later, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Burial is private.