James J. “J.J” Smith, 95, of Wakefield, Mass., and formerly of Watertown, Mass., died Oct. 5 in his home.
Smith had been a journalist and columnist for United Press International as the UPI night editor in Hartford, Conn.
In 1965, he began at the former Boston Herald-Traveler, covering the Massachusetts statehouse.
He had been editor and publisher of the Labor Action News and the Judicial Forum. He also has been a special correspondent for Boston’s Post-Gazette
Smith was a press secretary for then-Massachusetts Gov. Endicott “Chub” Peabody, and public relations director for St. Francis Hospital in Hartford.
He leaves three daughters, Kathleen, Patricia and Carey, and four grandchildren, Brendan, Tyler, Dylan and Samantha.
The obituaries were written, at least in part, from published reports by Bulletin correspondents Ashleane Alabre, Sophie Cannon, Jenna Ciccotelli, Nico Hall, Joshua Leaston, Georgeanne Oliver, Julia Preszler and Thomas Ward, undergraduate students at Northeastern University.