James G. Stier ’50

Jim, a member of a championship 150-pound crew at Princeton and a pioneer in the business art of investor relations during a 41-year career at W.R. Grace, died Jan. 3, 2023, in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he had been living with his son Kenneth. He was 94.

Jim was born in Brooklyn and grew up in Great Neck. He attended boarding school in Rhode Island. At Princeton, he graduated with honors from the School of Public and International Affairs. He was an oarsman on lightweight crews all four years at Princeton. In 1948 and 1949 he rowed on the varsity 150-pound crew teams that competed triumphantly at the Henley Royal Regattas in England. He belonged to Dial Lodge and roomed with Jim Billington, Lon Horsey, and Jeremy Main.

After serving in the Air Force during the Korean War, Jim signed up to start in the mailroom at Grace. As he rose in the company, he developed and ran its investor relations department. He was an executive vice president when he retired in 1991. 

His wife, Virginia, died in 2016. Jim is survived by his five children, Kenneth, Gregory, Gretchen, Heidi, and Gerard; and his brother Kenneth ’54.