James B. McGiffert Jr. ’59

Jim McGiffert, grandson of a member of the Class of 1906 and son of a member of the Class of 1934, died May 27, 2017, in Palm Beach, Fla.

Journalism was in Jim’s blood. He hosted a radio show, Teen Age Review, in Easton, Pa., at age 14. Coming to Princeton from St. Andrew’s School, he joined Cloister. He made his mark heading up the new special-events staff at WPRB, broadcasting several shows of exceptional interest.

Leaving Princeton after two years, he worked as a disc jockey in Easton. Then he was a staff reporter with the Easton Express. In 1961 he moved to New York City to work at WINS, New York’s first all-news radio station. Working as a reporter, news editor, then senior writer-broadcaster, he became the station’s morning and special-reports anchorman, winning accolades for his coverage of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing and the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

In 1962, Jim married Lynne Kaufmann. They raised two daughters before separating in 1992. Ten years later Jim retired to the West Coast, and in 2003 he married Anita “Nita” Reetz. Settling in Anacortes, Wash., they enjoyed traveling and working abroad. They volunteered as English teachers at a university medical faculty in Banda Aceh, Sumatra, a year after the 2004 Asian tsunami, and taught in Rwanda at the Kigali Health Institute from 2007 to 2008.

Jim is survived by Nita; daughters Sandy and Nancy; stepdaughter Nile; two sisters; and five granddaughters. We have sent condolences.