James Moffatt, 80, retired Inquirer editor, Rutgers instructor

JIM MOFFATT once wrote that he used to tell his journalism students at Rutgers-Camden, "Just remember that while you guys are doing sex and drugs on Friday nights, I'm chasing commas at the Inquirer."

It never failed to get a laugh, although he wrote that once, after delivering the quip, an older student remarked, "Mr. Moffatt, you ought to get a life."

"Gee, I said to myself, I thought I had a life," he wrote.

The piece was a sort of farewell note to the newspaper business, printed in the Inquirer on Nov. 11, 1996, shortly before his retirement after 32 years as a copy editor.

James Moffatt, who molded lives while chasing commas - influencing scores of Rutgers journalism students in a 29-year teaching career while working at the Inquirer as one of the "rim rats," copy editors who shaped and sharpened the prose of writers - died Sunday after a long illness. He was 80 and lived in Riverton, N.J.

A highlight of Jim's career was sharing in a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for Inquirer coverage of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster.

In later years, Moff, as he was affectionately called by colleagues, ran the Inquirer business desk - "with a firm but benevolent hand," said Donald D. Groff, who worked on the Inquirer copy desk with Jim.

"His editing judgment, even under the fire of deadline, was rock-solid," Groff said. "Beyond his professionalism, he cared about those around him, and they returned that affection. He was charming and good-humored, and colleagues would come by his chair at the head of the copy desk just to say hello or drop off a joke."

Even in retirement, Jim continued his pursuit of perfection in journalism by frequent missives to the editor of the Burlington County Times, analyzing stories in the paper, commenting on the writing and grammatical mistakes.

"I don't know how she put up with him," said his wife, the former Muriel Alls. "He would get out his red pen and go over the stories, saying, 'This is a bad lead, this is wrong,' and ship the clippings off to her."

Daily News staff writer Jason Nark said that one of Jim's courses at Rutgers "changed my whole trajectory."

"He always liked my work and when I told him I was thinking about transferring to a school with a large journalism program, he talked me out of it," said Nark. " 'Learn about life, not journalism,' he told me."

"He was a traditional newspaperman in the best sense of the word," said Alan J. Heavens, an Inquirer staff writer who worked with Jim. "He was a stickler for grammar.

"He never overedited. He never trampled on a writer's style. He recognized the importance to the paper to have many voices. He was a lot of fun. We laughed a lot."

As a teacher, Jim had one cardinal rule, expressed in the acronym "PYIRP" - "Put yourself in the reader's place."

Lisa Tracy, a retired Inquirer editor and editorial-board member, worked with Jim on the Inquirer's metro desk and taught as a graduate student in the Rutgers English department.

"Moff created the journalism superhero, 'PYIRP Man,' " she said. "He would show up in a T-shirt that he had made with PYIRP on the chest, and he wore a little cape. He was a sight to see in that outfit."

Jim had "PYIRP" printed in large letters above the blackboard in his classroom, and it was his car's license plate.

Lisa, who started at the Inquirer in December 1979, said, "I remember his kindness and gentle humor to one who'd just landed at the illustrious Inky as a stranger in a strange land."

Rutgers had no journalism department, so Jim's courses were in the English department. He was also the faculty adviser for the undergraduate newspaper, the Gleaner.

"He didn't come in and try to tell us how to run it," said John Barna, a Rutgers student in the '70s and editor of the Gleaner. "He would write a correction or two."

Barna, who went on to a 35-year career at the Gloucester County Times, said that students who took Jim's journalism classes looking for a quick A were surprised at how strict he was.

"He was one of the toughest graders," Barna said. "He was very exacting. He was a damn good newsman."

Students who completed Jim's three journalism classes were presented the PYIRP Award, given at elaborate ceremonies with food and candlelight. The award was a certificate or small trophy.

"It was a very solemn event," said former student John W. Crosbie, now circulation sales manager for Interstate General Media, which publishes the Daily News, the Inquirer and Philly.com. "He paid for everything out of his own pocket."

James Moffatt was born in Huntington, W. Va. At 9, he started a newspaper and took it around to neighbors. He attended the Kent School in Connecticut, and Columbia University. He worked for a paper in Ohio before joining the Inquirer in 1964. He was married to his late first wife, Gloria, for 46 years. He married Muriel in 2001.

He also is survived by two sons, Christopher and James; a daughter, Tamarah Moffatt; a brother, Frederick, five grandchildren.

Services: 10 a.m. Saturday, Christ Episcopal Church, 305 Main St., Riverton. Friends may call at 6 p.m. Friday, Weber Funeral Home, 112 Broad St., Riverton. Burial: Odd Fellows Cemetery, Medford, N.J.