He came to Princeton from Ball High School in Galveston, Texas, where he was president of Student Council and editor of the school newspaper.
At Princeton Jim was president of the University Press Club and secretary of the St. Paul’s Society. He majored in the Special Program in European Civilization and was a member of Campus Club. He roomed with George Hess and Andrew Robell.
After graduation he earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. from Yale, where he met and married Nancy. Jim taught German language at Phillips Andover Academy in 1959-1960 and at Harvard University from 1963 to 1965. He joined the Department of Germanic Languages and Literature at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he taught from 1965 until his retirement in 2000.
Jim’s bout with Guillain-Barre syndrome in 1969 left him permanently paralyzed, a fate he bore with courage and grace. He lived a rich life as a loving husband and father, a dedicated student and teacher, and an unfailingly kind host and friend.
Jim is survived by his wife, Nancy; sons Samuel, Daniel ’89 and his wife, Vivian ’89, Andrew, and Benjamin and his wife, Delores; and daughter Tonya. The class extends its deepest sympathy to them all.