James R. Renick ’60

Jim got his “big promotion,” as he called it, Oct. 3, 2010, in Lancaster County, Pa., after a valiant 12-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease.

Jim came to Princeton from Newark (N.Y.) Central School thinking he would be trained at the Woodrow Wilson School to become a world-class diplomat. His focus changed in the spring of 1957 when he met Don Fullerton 1913, founder of the Princeton Evangelical Fellowship, and as a result he experienced a profound evangelical conversion. At Princeton, Jim majored in history, served as PEF president, and was a charter member of Wilson Lodge.

After Princeton he earned advanced degrees at Grace and Princeton Theological seminaries and for many years served as an ambassador for Christ in France, where he worked with various church and Christian organizations.

According to roommate George Hutchinson, who represented the class at Jim’s memorial service, “Had Jim not walked the Calvary Road, he could have been a renowned diplomat. . . . He was always the same: affable and friendly, concerned and committed, competent and considerate to all. . . . Farewell, sweet prince!”

Jim was a member of Princeton’s 1746 Society. The class extends sincere sympathy to his wife, Joyce; children Lauri and James; and his brother, John.