James Junkin Buchanan ’46 *54

Body

Jim, son of trustee emeritus John G. Buchanan 1909, died peacefully in his hometown of Pittsburgh Dec. 5, 2004.

Jim came to Princeton in 1942 from Shady Side Academy. He majored in philosophy and was active in the Glee Club, Nassau Hounds, Campus Singers, and Colonial Club. After receiving an MBA from Harvard in 1948 and working for First Boston, he returned to Princeton and earned a Ph.D. in classics in 1954. During Jim's distinguished academic career, he was an assistant professor of classics at Princeton and secretary of the Alumni Schools Committee, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Southern Methodist University, and later professor of classics at Tulane University.

Jim was a true renaissance man — a popular professor, author, devotee of the arts, avid traveler, and baseball fan. Active in community service, he volunteered his time to the New Orleans Symphony, public television, and literacy programs. He also served as a trustee of Trinity Episcopal School, as an elder in his church, and president of the Tulane chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

After retirement in 1987, Jim and his wife, Joanne, returned to Pittsburgh. Joanne died a few years ago. He is survived by five children, Susan, Edison, Constance '78, James, and Charles, and by seven grandchildren. To them all, the class extends deep sympathy.

The Class of 1946

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