James C. Wilson Jr. ’45

Jim died July 6, 2018, at the age of 95. Jim was a direct descendant of John Witherspoon, the sixth president of Princeton.

He was born in Little Rock, Ark., and moved to Washington, D.C., and then Westfield, N.J. He graduated from Westfield High School. At Princeton he participated in intramural football, boxing, championship interclub softball, Orange Key, Westminster Society, Chemistry Club, and was a member of Dial Lodge.

He was called to service in the Navy gunnery during World War II as an aerological and watch officer on the USS PCE881. After the war he graduated with a degree in chemistry. He worked at DuPont before attending and graduating from Harvard Business School.

Jim spent nearly 40 years in the banking industry, first in the credit department of the Union National Bank in Charlotte, N.C., and later at the Brentwood Savings and Loan Association in Los Angeles.

In 1950, he and his wife, Shirley, climbed the Matterhorn and cycled through Western Europe before starting their family. He was a member of Rotary International and the American Red Cross. Always committed to his community, he was a Cub and Boy Scout leader and was involved deeply in his church and with his homeowners association.

He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Shirley; his four children, Lynn, Chip, Breck, and Nancy; and five grandchildren.