James T. Granbery Jr. ’47

James Granbery died May 14, 2012, in Nashville.

Born in Nashville, Jim attended Montgomery Bell Academy, then prepped at Woodberry Forest School before entering Princeton in the summer of 1943. He joined the Princeton V-12 program in November and left in September 1944 for sea duty. His Navy career was on PT boats near Borneo. Returning to Princeton in 1946, he graduated in June 1948.

Jim used his Navy training with Ingram Oil & Refining Co. in New Orleans as an officer on its barge fleet. In 1957, he and his wife, Lillian Anne, whom he married in 1953, moved back to Nashville, where he entered the general insurance business. He started his own brokerage firm in 1987. His principal interest outside of business was golf, and he regularly played at Shoal Creek and Belle Meade Country Club.

Jim was a major supporter of Woodberry Forest School, where he donated funds for the construction of Granbery House in memory of his parents.

Jim’s Princeton roots went back to his grandfather, William 1887, and father, Jim Sr. 1914, and include his brother, William ’43, and cousins Leonard S. Smith and Bill Hughson, both ’47.

He is survived by Lil. The class sends its remembrance of this lively and interesting friend to Lil and Jim’s large group of relatives in Nashville.