James Stutesman Thurston ’44

Jim died Sept. 2, 2004, at his beloved Windfield Farm outside Noblesville, Ind. He was 83.

He once described his profession as "social worker," but that is in its broadest sense. He had an activist's love and concern for all humanity. Jim was the 1953 winner of our Bate Farnum Award for helping organize the Foundation for International Economic Development and Education, designed to help developing nations help themselves.

A National Honor Society student at Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, he majored in sociology at Princeton, was one of our two winners in the freshman Cane Spree, and was a member of Whig-Clio, the choir, and Campus and Triangle clubs. He roomed with George Sisson and Andy Underhill.

Jim joined the Navy in 1942, served in Europe, and returned to graduate in 1948. He studied voice briefly in Paris, then became the inspiration for 17 or more initiatives that helped the underserved people of Indianapolis and beyond. He played the fiddle, read extensively, studied Stone Age archaeological digs in Greece, and was a member of the Society of Colonial Wars. He and his wife, Marti, vacationed at Lake Huron.

Survivors include Marti; children John, Ann, Peter, and David; seven grandchildren, and a cousin, John H. Stutesman Jr. '42, all of whom have our condolences.

The Class of 1944