TIM O'CONNOR CO-FOUNDER OF ARIZONA AIRWAYS 1942 PHX OBITUARY Timothy A. O'Connor, who served in a leadership role at the Daily News for nearly 20 years, 16 as publisher, died early Tuesday at his home in Naples. He was 88. He was the driving force behind an expanding Daily News in the mid-1960s through mid-1980s. O'Connor became publisher in 1971 of a community publication that had rapidly grown from a weekly to a daily. During his 16 years as publisher, O'Connor saw the circulation of the newspapers increase from 4,000 to more than 40,000 subscribers. In the mid-1980s, Corbin Wyant succeeded O'Connor as Daily news president and chief executive. 'I heard about his reputation as a visionary and as a gifted leader before meeting him more than 35 years ago,' Wyant said upon learning of O'Connor's death. 'Then he brought me to Naples more than 30 years ago to succeed him as publisher and I found everything I had heard about him was true. He was an extraordinary leader and his staff admired him and held him in great mutual affection. His service to the community and to the newspaper was superb.' In October 1954, the biweekly publication went from Tuesdays and Fridays to Thursdays and Sundays before it became a five-day publication (Tuesday through Friday and Sunday) Nov. 1, 1963. And then on Dec. 4, 1967, a Monday edition was added. By Dec. 4, 1967, the Daily News had increased its publication to six days a week. And the world was beginning to hear about Naples, attracting more tourism. Following a national search, O'Connor became general manager after editor and publisher Michael Chance retired. 'It took six months to find him. We advertised in national publications,' Chesley 'Chet' Perry, a retired News-Press publisher, said in a 1998 Daily News article. O'Connor moved to Naples at 47 in 1967, after leaving the Chester, Pa., Times. 'Tim was just a great guy, he was quiet,' said retired Naples businessman Earl Hodges. 'I always thought and found him to be fair in his editorials and in his work ethic. I was also a member of the Naples Yacht and Sailing Club when he was (rear) commodore and he did a lot for that club and others.' Evelyne Proffitt, who has been controller of the yacht club for 38 years, said O'Connor was 'wonderful, wonderful to work for.' O'Connor and Jack Messmer, the club's first commodore, were good friends and spent many hours together on club business, said Mrs. Jack 'Tiny' Messmer. 'He was a very fine friend to everyone and he was always able to do whatever he said. He would get it done,' she said. O'Connor had a varied career before relocating to Naples, said Lamar Gable, chairman of Barron Collier Co., who knew him since 1968. 'He was just a wonderful, wonderful man,' Gable said. 'He was a pretty good disciplinarian.' Staff members at the newspaper had to clear their desks of everything before leaving at the end of the day, Gable said. 'He was a very disciplined publisher.' A graduate of Arizona State University, O'Connor served as a lieutenant naval aviator during the war, and brought a diverse business and publishing background to the Daily News. Prior to joining the Navy in 1942, O'Connor founded Arizona Airways that later merged with Monarch Air to become Frontier Airlines. After the war he was instrumental in the development of Florida's Bellair Beach near Clearwater before purchasing and becoming publisher of the Durango, Co., Herald Democrat. He later sold that paper and entered the manganese mining business in Arizona with his brother-in-law, Vic Morgan, also a publisher. He also served as a business consultant with the George S. May Co. in Chicago and later as a newspaper broker for Alan Kander and Associates. O'Connor's newspaper career spanned more than 35 years in which he owned and published newspapers in Oregon, Pennsylvania and Florida. At the time O'Connor arrived in Southwest Florida, the Collier County News, the News-Press and the Miami Herald each had about 5,000 subscribers in Collier County. In August 1969, when the Daily News moved from its offices at Crayton Cove to its current location on Central Avenue, its circulation began to soar, while the News-Press and Herald circulation remained stable. 'The newspaper needed to reflect the character of its market, and Naples was already nationally recognized,' O'Connor told the Daily News in an 1998 75th anniversary article. 'We renamed it the Naples Daily News and redesigned the product.' By 1970, computerization operations and new offset printing presses gave the Daily News the capacity to produce full color photos. O'Connor always had a concern for local news and the concept of a high story count, which also influenced the staff. And his business philosophy was successful. As the Daily News improved its content, circulation and advertising volume grew and the publishing company prospered. In 1976, the Naples Daily News was named second in the nation among small dailies in general excellence by the National Newspaper Association. 'The credit for the success of the newspaper really goes to the staff,' O'Connor said in a 1998 Daily News article. 'They were intensely dedicated. 'It was a privilege to work with that group. They were the best in the business.' When O'Connor announced his retirement in July 1986, he said to the Daily News: 'This is a young man's business and it is time to turn over the management. The past 19 years have been very rewarding to me. The success of this newspaper is the direct result of the tremendous dedication, enthusiasm and professionalism of the past and present Daily News staff. I am happy to have been part of it.' He retired Aug. 1, 1986. -Naples Daily News on Nov 4, 2008 Posted at the FL Club New memorial webpage TIM O'CONNOR CO-FOUNDER OF ARIZONA AIRWAYS 1942 PHX http://FAL-1.tripod.com/ Tim_OConnor.html Post any additional info on Tim. -Jake Lamkins TIMOTHY A OCONNOR Born 10 Jul 1920 Died 04 Nov 2008 Age 88 At 34109 Naples, FL SSN issued in Illinois -SSDI (12/30/10) Tim is mentioned in Ken Schultz' history of Arizona Airways: http://FAL-1.tripod.com/AZ_HistorySchultz.pdf -Jake Lamkins (3/29/11)