James J. Fahey; Garbage Truck Driver-Turned Author

James J. Fahey, 73, a garbage truck driver who became a best-selling author and donated his royalties to build a church in India. Fahey’s 1963 book, “Pacific War Diary 1942-1945,” told his experiences as a seaman aboard the light cruiser Montpelier. The book sold more than 120,000 copies in hardcover and 200,000 copies in paperback. Fahey who then lived in Marco Island, Fla., continued to work for the local sanitation department, where he had been employed since 1951. He donated his $60,000 in royalties from the book to build a Roman Catholic church in the village of Mettupatti in southern India. In Bedford, Mass., on Sept. 23 of undisclosed causes.