James Downing Jr. ’53

Jim, of Hobe Sound, Fla., died May 21, 2021, at his home while singing the hymn “Amazing Grace” with his chaplain. 

Jim was born Jan. 18, 1931, in Charlottesville, Va., and graduated from the Calvert and Gilman schools in Baltimore before coming to Princeton. He majored in history and wrote his thesis on “The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.” He was a member of Cap and Gown. 

Jim was an accomplished sportsman who grew up riding and fox hunting and was passionate about bird hunting at his farm in Trappe, Md. He was an avid sailor later in life, often racing his Camper Nicholson boat, Brea, in the Frostbite Series in Annapolis and sailing throughout the Bay, down to Florida and around the Caribbean.

Jim had a career in investment banking in Baltimore and New York and later was an entrepreneur and real-estate developer in Florida.

He is survived by six children, 13 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.