MJ Crowley, retired news research library manager at The Inquirer, Daily News, and Star-Ledger, has died at 80

MJ Crowley, 80, of Doylestown, retired news research library manager at The Inquirer and Daily News, and the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., died Friday, Sept. 6, of cancer at her home.

Organized, collegial, and a stickler for details, Ms. Crowley used her love of language and journalism and her talent in technology to build state-of-the-art news research library departments at The Inquirer and Daily News, and the Star-Ledger. She joined The Inquirer and Daily News in 1982 and, over the next 15 years, ushered in a new and improved system for newspaper researchers to access information and images faster than ever before.

She led reporters, editors, and photographers from old filing cabinets filled with dog-eared manila folders to digital archives that could be accessed in seconds on a computer. Fact-checking became easier. Finding archived photos was a snap, and deeper research made stories better.

The Star-Ledger hired her away from The Inquirer in 1997, and she did the same thing for its staff. “She brought us into the modern age,” said Jim Willse, former editor at the Star-Ledger, “and she did it quickly.”

Ms. Crowley supervised 20 other librarians and support staff at The Inquirer, and was a celebrated leader with the international Special Libraries Association. She earned its 1992 Agnes Henebry Roll of Honor Award for service to its news division and its 2002 Joseph F. Kwapil Memorial Award for service and achievements in news librarianship. She retired in 2007.

She earned a master’s degree in library science at the University of Michigan, and colleagues at The Inquirer, Daily News, and Star-Ledger often dropped by her library office to chat even when they had no assignments. “She could be serious or stubborn, but by nature was kind, generous, and had an infinite supply of patience,” said her husband, Mike Shoup.

Willse said: “She was a special person.”

Mary Jo Hume was born Jan. 19, 1944, in Owosso, Mich. She talked often as an adult of idyllic days in South Central Michigan and pleasant stays at the family cabin by Crystal Lake, hard by Lake Michigan.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in art education at Michigan State University after high school and her master’s degree at Michigan, and did graduate work at Drexel University when she moved to Philadelphia in 1980.

She married Jim Crowley, and they had sons David and Benjamin. They lived in Algiers and London for two years, and she worked part-time as a librarian in London. They divorced later. She also had a son, Marco.

She married Mike Shoup in 1988, welcoming his children and grandchildren into her family, and they lived in Philadelphia, North Jersey, Millville, Pa., and Doylestown. Ms. Crowley also spoke Spanish and German, and she and her husband made memorable journeys to China, Europe, Mexico, Central America, and elsewhere.

They built a second home in Nicaragua in 2005, immersed themselves in local life, financed several college students, and wintered there for a decade. She liked to linger with the flowers, fruits, and vegetables in her many gardens, and shared bags of sweet corn for years with colleagues at the Star-Ledger.

She took bike rides on trails and towpaths in Bucks County, and memorably crashed one time into a canal. She liked to dance and watch movies, and wrote eloquently about the beauty of the view out her kitchen window in Millville, north of Bloomsburg. She doted on her family and created endearing craft kits for her grandchildren at Christmas.

“She was a remarkable human being,” Willse said. “She had a very caring personality and was the heart of our newsroom.” Shoup said: “She was always up. She was always doing things. She was a real doer.”

In addition to her husband, sons, and former husband, Ms. Crowley is survived by nine grandchildren, a sister, and other relatives.

A celebration of her life is to be held from 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, at Joseph A. Fluehr Funeral Home, 241 E. Butler Ave., New Britain, Pa. 18901.

Donations in her name may be made to Doylestown Health Hospice, c/o Doylestown Health Foundation, 595 W. State St., Doylestown, Pa. 18901.