James E. Reik ’49

Jim died April 15, 2014, in his home in East Hartford, Conn.

Jim prepared for Princeton at the Taft School. After two years in the Army Air Force (and achieving the rank of second lieutenant), he matriculated at Princeton in the fall of 1945. Jim majored in economics, served on the board of the Tiger, and belonged to Tower Club.

In 1952 he graduated from Harvard Law School. After three years in New York, Jim joined what later became the Hartford Insurance Co., where he was employed for 30 years. After retiring in 1985, he served as counsel to the State Employees Retirement Board, and left that post in 1987.

Jim and Cynthia were active members of the Hartford Monthly Meeting of Friends, and much of their social life revolved around the Meeting and the Quaker Lane Cooperative Nursery School. Travel and visits to Tanglewood often were taken with fellow Quakers who shared their interests and beliefs.

His “good marriage” to Cynthia, a Radcliffe alumna, made for a happy, fulfilling life for Jim. He is survived by Cynthia; their children, Deborah, Jonathan, David, and Constance; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. We salute his memory.