Name: Visitation for Dr. James McElhaney
Start: 2020-08-05T21:00:00.000Z
End: 2020-08-05T23:00:00.000Z
Location: Clements Funeral & Cremation Services, Inc - Durham

Dr. James H. McElhaney

Durham

Dr. James H. McElhaney was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 27, 1933. James passed away on July 30, 2020 at the age of 86 after a long illness. He is at rest with is beloved daughter Lisa. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Mary Eileen Esbensen, his two daughters, Kathleen King and husband Guy, Amy McElhaney and her partner Diane McGinnis. He is also survived by three grandchildren, Emily Thomas and her husband Jake, Alex King and Zachary McElhaney and three great-grandchildren James King, Dean King and Luke Thomas. James is survived by his two siblings Robert McElhaney and Jeanne Ballestero.

James was a Biomechanical Engineer. He started by getting his undergraduate Mechanical Engineering degree at Villanova University in 1955. He then went on to get his master's at the University of Pennsylvania followed by his Ph.D. at West Virginia University in 1961. He was a registered professional engineer in the state of Pennsylvania.

In 1969, James garnered a laudable reputation at the biomechanics department of the Highway Safety Research Institute at the University of Michigan, where his team developed protocols for the first car safety crash tests. James names this, as well as his work on developing instrumented anthropometric crash test dummies, as one of his career highlights. James went on to Duke University in 1973 to work in biomechanics of trauma and the field of head, neck and spinal injury.

He was the chairman of the biomedical engineering department from 1984-1995. During that time, the Duke Gradate program for Biomechanics was ranked number 2 in the country. James was also a professor of experimental orthopedics at Duke University between 1986 and 2005.

James was a renowned head and neck injury specialist who worked in the areas of head protection, gait analysis and prosthetics. He also worked as a consultant for head and neck injury litigation.

James was an avid sailor. He made several trips at sea to the Caribbean, races to Bermuda and culminating to his dream voyage across the Atlantic.

A visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5th at Clements Funeral Home in Durham. A private graveside service will be held at Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh.

The family is being assisted by Clements Funeral & Cremation Services, Inc. in Durham. Online condolences may be sent to www.clementsfuneralservice.com.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The News and Observer & Herald Sun on Aug. 3, 2020.

Memories and Condolences
for James McElhaney

Sponsored by Clements Funeral & Cremation Services, Inc - Durham.

4 Entries

Jerry Gilbert

August 6, 2020

I wish I had had the opportunity to be in Durham with Jim's family in their time of sorrow as they remembered his life. And I regret that I probably never thanked Jim sufficiently for all he did for me while I was at Duke. Jim was truly brilliant, and I was lucky to be one of his doctoral students. Having the opportunity to study under him and get my PhD in Biomedical Engineering at Duke was an opportunity of a lifetime for me. He was a mentor and a friend, always willing to go to bat for his students. I think of him often and always tell people with pride that he was my professor. I will miss him.

Cheryl (Gira) Pattin

August 5, 2020

Dr. James McElhaney was one of the most impressive minds I've ever had a chance to know. His intuition and grasp of things mechanical was stunning. I received my Masters in Biomedical Engineering from Duke in 1985. Based on his knowledge of sailing, Jim designed a capstain grip for the tendons I tested for my research. I learned so much from him and I wish his family peace in this difficult time. Best regards, Cheryl Pattin (MIT ME '82, Duke BME '85, Stanford PhD '91)

Cedric Walker

August 4, 2020

I will always cherish Jim as a mentor, a role model, my dissertation advisor, a friend and fellow sailor, and a raconteur. Hardly a day goes by, even 45 years later, when I don't stop to think that something I'm doing comes as a result of what he taught me.

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