James E. Durkin Jr. ’53

Jim, who was a retired psychology professor and patient advocate, was found dead at his home in Kensington, Calif., Aug. 13, 2012, the victim of a homicide, police said.

He was born in New York City. At Princeton he dined at Tower Club, and his roommates included Terry Sullivan, another Tower member. Jim sang in the Chapel Choir as he had done at The Hill School. He obtained a master’s degree in clinical psychology at Columbia (his mother, Helen Durkin, had been a Ph.D. recipient at Columbia and a practicing psychotherapist), and he and his first wife, Marilyn, were the parents of son Larry and daughter Carla ’79.

Jim worked briefly as a psychologist and motivating researcher for Opinion Research Corp. in Princeton and wrote notes for the Princeton Film Forum. Son Larry, discussing his father’s career, said he earned a Ph.D. at Rutgers, taught at Queens College and Lincoln University, and was a professor at Sonoma State University. Larry spoke of his father’s curiosity about art, science, and literature, saying, “He rode his vintage motorcycle around town with abandon, as he did many things in life.”

Besides his children, Jim is survived by his brother, Roderick; two grandchildren; and a niece. To them, we add our shock and grief over his tragic death.