James Reed, Kennedy confidant served in Treasury Department

While aboard the USS Rochambeau en route to the South Pacific in 1943, James A. Reed met a bright young officer with whom he shared New England roots and a sense of humor. They served together on the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Two , and Mr. Reed was on the island of Tulagi when his friend returned to the base there after he was hurt in combat.

A little less than 20 years later, that friend, John F. Kennedy , was elected president of the United States and Mr. Reed, then a moderate Republican, was soon appointed assistant secretary of the US Treasury.

Ultimately, the two had forged a friendship that helped persuade Mr. Reed to abandon his affiliation with the Republican Party and to campaign for the friend he had initially predicted would become an academic.

``They really were very close personal friends, and there was a great deal of mutual affection and respect," Mr. Reed's son Craig of Houston, said yesterday in a telephone interview.

Mr. Reed, a Pittsfield native, died Wednesday at Blue Hill Memorial Hospital in Maine from complications of pulmonary fibrosis. He was 89.

Mr. Reed was ``basically very imposing, very strong, very robust," yet also very genial and charismatic, his son said, adding, ``He would walk into a room with 50 people he didn't know and walk back out with 50 new friends."

``He showed great courage on a number of occasions, an extraordinary zest for work, and fine ability which made him one of the outstanding officers in the area," Kennedy wrote in a letter of recommendation dated Oct. 2, 1945, his son said.

Mr. Reed had graduated from Deerfield Academy , earned a bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 1941, and a degree from Harvard Law School in 1948.

While working as a lawyer in Springfield, Mr. Reed was thrilled that then-senator Kennedy took time to help him out when the firm was struggling. He visited a building owned by a client of the firm, to show his support for Mr. Reed.

``He just wanted to demonstrate that my father had good friends," Craig Reed said, adding that his father was very touched by the image of the future president casting aside the crutches he was using after back surgery and gingerly hobbling up the stairs.

Mr. Reed had also shown his support for Kennedy, starting with his successful 1946 bid to become a congressman and continuing through the presidential effort. Behind the political scenes, he served as an usher at Kennedy's wedding, later recalling having to duck as whiskey glasses flew during a heated exchange at Kennedy's bachelor's party.

In 1961, President Kennedy tapped Mr. Reed to become special assistant to Attorney General Robert Kennedy. He dealt mostly with antitrust matters, and he was part of a US Supreme Court case stemming from a merger involving the Philadelphia National Bank, family members said.

The following year, President Kennedy appointed Mr. Reed assistant secretary of the US Treasury, responsible for overseeing a several divisions, including the US Customs, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, and the Bureau of Narcotics. ``His job is now held by about 11 political appointees," his son said.

Mr. Reed immersed himself in his work, spearheading efforts to reorganize the Customs Service.

He also enjoyed some of the perks of being a presidential aide: swimming in the White House pool and attending lavish dinners with foreign heads of state or cultural icons.

In a 1979 Globe interview, Mr. Reed recalled one visit by an Irish prime minister, whom the president entertained royally with Irish bagpipers and other musical groups.

``During the course of their singing these songs, the president had the sweetest and saddest look on his face," Mr. Reed said. ``He was over standing by himself, leaning against the doorway there and just sort of transported into a world of imagination, apparently."

He also recalled the president's intellectual curiosity.

``He was so interested in intellectual subjects that very often during dinner, he would get so engrossed that he would forget which course of the dinner in which we were engaged," he said. ``We might be having soup, and he would reach into his pocket and pull out a caramel and chew on it while having his soup."

Devastated by the president's 1963 assassination, Mr. Reed held his job until 1965, before heading into the private sector. He was the New York partner of a Paris-based law firm for a time, then joined Robert B. Anderson , secretary of the Treasury under former president Eisenhower , in an international business venture, assisting with mergers and acquisitions.

He started his own firm, J. A. Reed & Co., Ltd., in the mid 1970s and served as special counsel to the Shah of Iran under the Pahlavi Foundation, family members said.

For decades, he owned Avery Manor, a former British tavern built in 1760, which still contained the carved initials of the commanding officer of the British garrison stationed in Castine, Maine, during the War of 1812, according to family.

``He was just a joyful, happy enlivening person even at the height of his infirmity," his son said.

In addition to his son, Mr. Reed leaves his companion Barbara Alden Campbell of Hancock, N.H.; his former wife, Julia of Longmeadow; three daughters, Candace Stern of Ramsay, N.J., Susan MacNair of Castine, Maine, and Rosmunde Curran of Longmeadow; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

A funeral will be held Friday at 4 p.m. in Castine Unitarian Church. Burial will be in Castine Cemetery.