James J. McCloskey, 92, of Broomall, a retired SEPTA bus driver who was never late for a shift or absent due to illness over a 45-year career, an Army veteran, and a devoted family man, died Tuesday, Aug. 16, of complications from dementia at Sunrise of Newtown Square senior living community.
Mr. McCloskey began driving a bus for the old Philadelphia Transportation Co. in 1950 and retired from SEPTA in 1994 after having been celebrated by his employers and the community for his long uninterrupted service to his riders. SEPTA officials, family, and friends arranged an emotional farewell in South Philadelphia after his last shift, and Bill Baldini, a longtime TV reporter, nicknamed Mr. McCloskey the “Iron Man of SEPTA” in his report of the event.
“He liked to keep people on time,” said his nephew, Joe Holden. “He was a human Timex.”
The Inquirer wrote about Mr. McCloskey in 1989 when SEPTA recognized his 39 years of unblemished service, and Mary McCloskey, his mother, said then that he had not missed a day of school or work since he stayed home in third grade with the flu.
“Anybody who can drive a bus for more than 20 years and never take a sick day and never come in late deserves to be a hero,” Howard H. Roberts Jr., then SEPTA’s deputy general manager, said at the 1989 ceremony honoring Mr. McCloskey and other drivers with perfect attendance. “He deserves to be held up and looked up to by the rest of the organization.”
In addition to recognizing the devoted drivers with a banquet, SEPTA officials also announced at the time that those with perfect attendance would be awarded time off going forward. Generally quiet and unassuming, Mr. McCloskey told The Inquirer: “I think it’s great, and it’s about time.”
Mr. McCloskey spent his first five years of employment as a mechanic in a trolley garage. Over time as a driver, he earned the coveted morning runs on weekdays and overtime pay for dropping off students after school from West Philadelphia Catholic High School for Girls.
He told The Inquirer that his focus was “50 percent driving and 50 percent people” and that he liked the people half best. In a tribute, Mr. McCloskey’s family praised his long career, “simple as it was but so impactful daily for so many,” and a friend in an online tribute noted “your remarkable journey with SEPTA and your stellar driving record.”
A woman who worked in the West Philadelphia Catholic cafeteria often sat up front with Mr. McCloskey on his afternoon drives and chatted about the weather, travel, and news of the day. “Jim is the best bus driver in the world,” she told The Inquirer. “He’s such a courteous and pleasant man, just the kind who don’t usually get noticed.”
Mr. McCloskey did not slow down much even in retirement. He drove a school bus in Springfield, Delaware County, for years, hired out as a private limousine driver, and shoveled snow from his property and did maintenance on his car well into his 80s. “He was such a good role model for his family,” said his niece, Maureen Potkay. “He never missed a birthday or a wedding or anything.”
Born May 16, 1930, in Philadelphia, Mr. McCloskey grew up in West Philadelphia and graduated from St. Thomas More High School in 1948. He was nicknamed “Sonny boy” by his mother, rose to the rank of sergeant in the Army, and cared for his mother in West Philadelphia and Broomall after his father, also a Philadelphia Transportation Co. employee, died in 1971.
He liked to read, complete crossword puzzles, and devour events of the day from newspapers and TV. He was a dapper dresser, devout Catholic, and second-generation Irish American.
He followed Notre Dame football, and the Eagles and Phillies. He never married or had children but “was a prominent force in all our homes,” his nephew said.
“He loved to work, to be active,” his nephew said. “He was a proponent of knowledge and enthusiastic about everything he was interested in.”
In addition to his niece and nephew, Mr. McCloskey is survived by a brother, a sister, and other relatives. A brother and two sisters died earlier.
Services were Sept. 10.
Donations in his name may be made to St. Anastasia Church, 3301 West Chester Pike, Newtown Square, Pa. 19073.
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