The son of J. Franklin and Hildegard (Lesche) Hyde in Corning, N.Y., James died at Barrett House assisted living in Ripon, Wis., Aug. 1, 2016. He was professor emeritus of German at Ripon College.

At Princeton, James majored in German. While completing his doctorate at Indiana University, he taught German there. Then he taught German at the University of California, Davis, and Stanford University.

In 1960, James became associate professor of German at Ripon, retiring in 1999. He developed the program extensively, served as the department chairman, and was honored with a Severy Award for excellence in teaching.

A man of diverse interests, James was a talented musician, playing and performing on violin, piano, and organ. For many years he played in the Ripon College Orchestra, serving as concertmaster and soloing in several violin concertos. An expert in architectural acoustics and organ building, he held consulting jobs for organ installations in churches.

His love of hockey led him to be faculty adviser of the Ripon College hockey club. He learned to fly private aircraft and had a pilot’s license. His wide interests in scholarship earned him the nickname “Doc” while still in high school. Many friends knew him by that nickname throughout his life.

Undergraduate Class of 1955