Deceased February 10, 2016
View alumni profile (log in required)
In Memory
Jim died on Feb. 10, 2016, from heart failure. He came to Amherst after prepping at Western Reserve Academy in Ohio.
Jim joined Alpha Delta Phi, won his letter “A” all four years in both football (running back) and wrestling (captain 1 and 3) and even added another “A” in track. He was elected to Sphinx and Scarab. Clearly, he was an unusually fine athlete. In wrestling I marvel that he reached the 175-pound semifinals at the national NCAA tournament, which included the major universities.
After Amherst Jim graduated from Harvard Business School and later received a Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of Washington.
Jim had two great passions in life, apart from his family. One was flying, which he learned courtesy of the U.S. Navy from 1952 to 1956. The other was conservation of our lands. Following a stint as an Aspen ski instructor, he was a founding board member of Light Hawk, a conservation effort in the West that utilized aircraft in their work. Jim, with a Beech Baron, was the pilot.
He climbed all 53 peaks in Colorado with heights of 14,000 feet or more. For 47 years he explored the West annually with the same three friends.
Jim was on the board of Roadway Express, a national trucking company founded by his family. He also served on the Sierra Club Foundation board. He believed in the work of the ACLU and Earth Justice and enjoyed Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
Jim leaves his wife, Cynthia Wayburn; two children, Wil and Molly; a grandson; and two brothers, Tom ’66 and George ’68. Through an earlier marriage he had three adopted children—Mary, James and Thomas—and seven grandchildren.
John Priesing ’50