James M. Kasenga ’70

Jim died Jan. 26, 2023, at his retirement home in Palmer Township, Pa.

He came to us from Lincoln High School in Denver, courtesy of an uncle from Brooklyn who took him on a campus tour prior to his senior year. Jim was a member of Cloister, worked in Commons, and became one of the many of us caught up in sociology and politics. He wrote his thesis on “The Legal Profession and a Changing Society,” but as important was active in the Trenton Action Project, which foreshadowed his lifetime of helping others.

Following a master’s degree in counseling at Lehigh, Jim spent a career mixing teaching and social work, serving with Upward Bound, vocational rehabilitation agencies, and for years as a high school guidance counselor. Cementing his spot in the Nation’s Service Hall of Fame was his volunteer retirement job: children’s librarian, including the persona of Dr. Starfish, teaching sea life and friendship.

Jim is survived by his wife of 50 years, Donna, married in the Chapel; children Joshua and Jamie; grandchildren Nico, Noah, and Elizabeth; and brother Paul. In their sadness and ours, his sense of giving can serve as both a comfort and a call to action.