The son of James III ’23, Jim came to us from The Hill School, where he was active in the Student Christian Association and was co-editor of The Hill News. At Princeton he majored in American history, joined Elm Club, became president of the Student Christian Association, and was a Chapel deacon. After sophomore year he joined a YMCA delegation to Russia in the first — and highly controlled — experiment in cultural exchange of the Cold War era. This began a lifelong involvement with the YMCA.
Jim earned a master of divinity degree at Chicago Theological Seminary and a master of arts in teaching at Northwestern. His career included teaching high school history, professional positions in the YMCA movement, and finally 26 years with Chicago Youth Centers, retiring in 2010. His early YMCA affiliation drew him into the civil-rights and social-justice movements that defined his career and shaped his goals and his efforts to make the world a better place.
He suffered from myeloma for 10 years and succumbed to congestive heart failure. He is survived by his two sons, Gino and James Bradley; granddaughter Rebecca; former wife Gayle; and his partner and spouse of 30 years, Jeffrey Smith.