James R. Hosking ’42

James Hosking died April 26, 2011, at home in South Windsor, Conn. He was 90.

Jim was born in Dover, N.J., and graduated from East Orange High School. While in high school he was an Eagle Scout and leader of Troop 11, Boy Scouts of America.

At Princeton, Jim majored in mechanical engineering and joined Gateway Club. In the summer following his junior year, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford took him on as an undergraduate trainee; the experience shaped the rest of his life.

Following graduation from Princeton, Jim returned to Pratt & Whitney and became involved in the mass production of aircraft, which was one of the decisive factors in the Allied victory in World War II. In the late 1950s he worked in Florida on satellite and rocket projects. At Pratt, during a career that stretched until his retirement in 1980, Jim became an expert in instrumentation and new-engine development, capabilities recognized by membership in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Jim married Elda Bricalli in 1948. Together they constructed a summer home in Eastham, Mass., as a family center. She survives, as do his son, David; two daughters, Carol Oliveri and Elizabeth Couture; and two grandchildren. To them all, the class sends condolences.