JAMES H. HEEREMANS ’53
Jim Heeremans—a private, solid member of our Class—passed away Dec. 30, 2007, exactly three months after the death of his wife, Joyce. The devastating deaths delayed word to Amherst for some time. Jim died from complications of Parkinson’s disease, Joyce from kidney failure. They are survived by three daughters, Susan Lunn of Marion, Mass., Cynthia Greer of North Carolina and Rebecca Heeremans of California, plus three grandchildren.
At the time, Jim and his wife lived on Cape Cod, having moved a number of times throughout his career. After his math major at Amherst and O.C.S. assignments in the U.S. Navy, he earned a masters in Queueing Theory at Case Institute. He then took pride in four distinct, varied careers—management consulting for Arthur Andersen (becoming a partner), corporate controller of Dynamics Research Corporation, proprietor of a furniture manufacturing enterprise and C.F.O. of Adcole Corporation, a high-tech business near Boston.
In pondering a “fifth” career, he commented in a ’53 Reunion book that “one cannot readily determine where one should go without taking an inventory of where one has been.” One could argue that his fifth career was creative woodworking (Yankee Pride Workshop in Boxford, Mass.), plus constant learning and loving fatherhood. Recalls daughter Cynthia, “He was a true Renaissance man, able to do just about anything with tremendous decision-making skills, a master of practicalities.” Adds daughter Susan, “Also, a wonderful guy and great father. Our parents are sorely missed.”
—Philip W. Ransom, Jr. ’53