James M. Hatch ’62

The following memorial was published online with the June 3, 2015, issue.

Jim died in Milan, Italy, Oct. 6, 1989, at the age of 50. He had recently arrived in Italy to become the director of college placements for the American School of Milan.

Jim originally entered Princeton with the Class of 1961, but took a year off and returned to graduate and affiliate with our class. Born in Massena, N.Y., he graduated from Massena Central High School. At Princeton, he was a member of the glee club and of Cloister Inn.

Armed with a bachelor’s degree in English and later a master's degree in education from Rutgers, Jim devoted his life to secondary school teaching and counseling, at home and abroad. He taught at schools in Bern, Switzerland; Paris, and London, and in New York City and Rochester, N.Y. He was also a college placement director at the Harvard School in Los Angeles; the Staten Island Academy in New York; and the Ransom Everglades School in Miami. A marriage in the 1970s ended in divorce.

From 1973 to 1978, he was the associate director of Princeton's teacher training program and was a resident advisor.