A00417 - James S. Jackson, Jr., Amherst College Class of 1960, Roosevelt High School (Yonkers, New York) Grad, Four Year Swim Test Survivor
The next name on the Memorial List after Leon Joseph Du Bois, Amherst College Class of 1960, is James S. Jackson, Jr., Amherst College Class of 1960. Like his classmate Leon, Jim had a fairly active career at Amherst College, but after graduation he seemed to have disassociated himself from the college and his former friends. We know that he graduated from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, New York. A psychology major, Jim joined the Alpha Theta Xi fraternity which led to the fraternity being booted out of the national fraternity. Jim was also a high jumper on the Amherst College Outdoor Track team. However, his wedding little is known about his post-Amherst life. What is notable from his college days is that Jim apparently endured four years of swimming classes in order to pass the college swim test. At least that is the take away one has from reading the In Memory piece that is set forth below.
in memory
Jim Jackson died more than five years ago, on Jan. 16, 2018, but no obituary has been located. Memories of him are unusually sparse, because he never contributed to our reunion books or class notes nor maintained contact with those who knew him best at Amherst.
He was Ralph Blume ’60’s classmate at Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, N.Y., and an Alpha Theta Xi fraternity brother at Amherst. Ralph noted, “We seemed to be very close. I was at his wedding but subsequently lost all touch with him and was never able to find him or anything about him. I felt it as a major loss.”
Charlie Cobb ’60 remembers that Jim was “my fraternity brother and roommate, but we too lost touch. Jim’s pledging Theta Xi was the reason we were expelled from that national organization. He was a good friend, an awesome high jumper on the track team and an overall positive person, not given to intense study but a committed bridge player. I am saddened by his departure.”
Bob Glickman ’60 observed that Jim “did not participate in fraternity activities, and I suspect he was not happy at Amherst, although the entire fraternity welcomed him.”
Jim was a psychology major. Classmates may remember his herculean efforts to pass the required swimming test, which allegedly persisted until the night before graduation.
Assembled by Dick Weisfelder ’60 with help from the classmates mentioned
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