James M. Connors ’54

Jim died Jan. 28, 2020.

He graduated from Garden City High School, where he was editor of the literary magazine. At Princeton he majored in economics, joined Dial Lodge, and rowed on the freshman 150-pound crew. He participated in IAA football, basketball, and softball. He married Anna Marie Albrecht June 19, 1954.

Jim earned an MBA at Harvard Business School and worked briefly as a security analyst at Scudder, Stevens & Clark before accepting a position at the Carpenter Steel Corp. (now Carpenter Technology), where his duties as systems department manager included programming the first IBM commercial computer (now housed in the Smithsonian Institution). He also taught business courses as an adjunct professor at Albright College.

In the 1954 Nassau Herald he wrote, prophetically, “I have some wild ideas about using the computer for stock analysis.” In 1969, to test those ideas, he founded his own investment advisory firm, Connors Investor Services, which currently has nearly $1 billion under management.

Known for his warmth and quick wit, he enjoyed listening to music, reading, playing marathon Scrabble games with Anna, and service to the boards and committees of local nonprofits.

He is survived by Anna, his wife of 65 years; children Jan, Lisa, Michael, and Peter; 14 grandchildren; and several great-grandchildren.