Jim grew up in Maplewood, N.J., and was a longtime resident of Bridgewater. He graduated from Maplewood’s Columbia High School. He majored in electrical engineering at Princeton, roomed with Ric Greenwald, John Torkelsen, and Bob Korn in 1939 Hall, and junior year with Ken Logan. Jim was a member of the varsity rifle team, served on The Daily Princetonian business board, and was a member of Cloister Inn. He met his wife, Sharon, after graduation, and they married in December 1969. 

Jim worked in St Louis for the McDonnell Douglas Corp. for 10 years as a design engineer on F-4 fighter aircraft and then the F-15. He then moved to Maryland, working for Dresser Industries as a systems analyst. 

In 1979, Jim earned an MBA from Penn’s Wharton School, shifting his career interest to combine professional engineering experience with management education. He moved to Basking Ridge, N.J., to work as a marketing and product manager for AT&T, then joined the Strategic Planning Institute in Cambridge, Mass. He left to form his own consulting firm in 1989, retiring in 2009. 

In retirement, Jim and Sharon split time between their New Jersey home and visiting sons and their families in Longboat Key, Fla., and London. Jim was a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity and other community charity organizations before his late illness.

Jim is survived by Sharon, sons Matthew and Shawn, three grandchildren, brothers John and Joseph, and sister Sandra Wahlstrom.