For years, James J. Kilpatrick was one of my journalistic heroes. He was not as big a hero as H. L. Mencken, Ernie Pyle, G. W. Steevens and Sydney J. Harris, but he was a hero, just the same.

Kilpatrick’s syndicated columns, “A Conservative View” and “The Writer’s Art,” appeared on the Commercial-News editorial page for years, and I read them religiously. We agreed on most things. I appreciated his passion for the language and his beautifully crafted reflections.

Kilpatrick died Aug. 15 at age 89. I never met him, but I know that he visited Danville at least once. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, Bob Wright was the C-N editorial page editor. Every year, Bob organized a banquet for people who had contributed letters to the editor. I think it was held at the Hotel Wolford. The keynote speakers were big-name journalists, and Kilpatrick was among them.

James J. Kilpatrick was a newspaperman to the marrow, but he was best known for his TV appearances. In the 1970s, he bickered with liberal commentator Shana Alexander during the “Point-Counterpoint,” segment of CBS’ “60 Minutes.” Those in-your-face contests were parodied on Saturday Night Live. Dan Akroyd portrayed Kilpatrick, and responded to Jane Curtin with the words, “Jane, you ignorant slut!”

According to the Associated Press obituary, Kilpatrick learned to read by age 4 and decided early on that he wanted to be a newsman. He worked as a copyboy at The Oklahoma City Times and earned a journalism degree from the University of Missouri.

He joined Virginia’s Richmond News Leader in 1941 and rose to editor-in-chief within 10 years. He argued against the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education ruling — which struck down “separate but equal” schools — but later apologized for it.

Kilpatrick also pressured the governor of Virginia to pardon a black handyman imprisoned for allegedly slaying a police officer. Kilpatrick’s newspaper unearthed evidence that the man had been falsely charged.

Eventually, Kilpatrick left management to write full-time. His columns were syndicated in 1964 and two years later he moved to Washington, D.C. He was a contributing editor to the National Review and also did a column for Nation’s Business.

Conservatives, he wrote in 1978, “believe that a civilized society demands orders and classes, that men are not inherently equal, that change and reform are not identical, that in a free society men are children of God and not wards of the state. Self-reliance is a conservative principle. The work ethic is a conservative ethic. The free marketplace is vital to the conservative economic philosophy.”

In his heyday, Kilpatrick was the most widely syndicated political columnist in the country. He also wrote a dozen books on politics, the workings of the U.S. Supreme Court and writing.

“Be clear, be clear, be clear!” he said in his popular 1984 book, “The Writer’s Art.” “Your image or idea may be murky, but do not write murkily about it. Be murky clearly.”

Some of my favorite Kilpatrick pieces were written from his home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. There, he reflected on everything from the changing seasons to the skunk trapped under his porch.

Best of all were his letters to his granddaughter. Each began with the words, “Heather, my love … ” Each was a valentine, full of sweet observations, gentle wit and the wonder of a grandfather watching his favorite tomboy grow up.

James J. Kilpatrick was an old-time newsman who loved newspapers, writing and that intoxicating little insane asylum called the newsroom. He always will be a hero to me.

Danville native Kevin Cullen is a former Commercial-News reporter. Reach him at irishhiker@aol.com.