JAMES E. MARKS

MARKS JAMES E. James E. Marks, 97, real estate investor and lifelong Philadelphian, died of neuroendocrine cancer on June 20, 2022, in Bryn Mawr. Jim was born to Zachary Marks, an accountant, and Esther Brown Marks, a teacher. He studied classical piano at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music, and graduated from Overbrook High School in 1942. At 17, Jim became the first in his family to attend college, commuting to Drexel University by trolley car. Prohibited from studying electrical engineering due to an alleged lack of jobs for Jews in the field, he majored in mechanical engineering. He was captain of the cheerleading team and a member of the Pi Tau Sigma and Blue Key honor societies. He served in Japan as an NCO in the U.S. Navy during WWII, assisting with applications of newly developed radar technology. His training at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. was so confidential that his team had to lock their textbooks in a safe. In 1946, Jim returned to Drexel, graduated the following year and accepted a job at the accounting firm Laventhol Krekstein Griffith & Co. while attending Drexel's College of Business at night. He earned his MBA in 1949. In 1960, having developed housing communities with the W. A. Clarke Mortgage Company for more than ten years, Jim started Marks & Co., Inc. — the real estate development and management business that he led until his death. It is now headed by his son, James D. Marks. In 1963, Jim joined with financial partner Robert H. Fleisher to develop the first of many multifamily residential complexes under Marks & Co.'s management. He took joy in creating homes for people. In thinking through what they would need, he loved everything from the details, such as how many feet of space should come between a bed and a dresser, to the big picture, especially the preservation of trees and other natural elements in residential neighborhoods. Jim shared this passion with his family, encouraging his young son to add a garage when building toy houses (because "people want somewhere to park their cars"), and hosting his grandson as a college intern. Jim attributed much of his success to Drexel. He served on the board of trustees from 1986 to 1995, and in 2015 he received an honorary doctorate in business administration. The university opened the James E. Marks Intercultural Center in 2011, a space for cultivating community and collaboration among diverse groups. Jim was also dedicated to Philadelphia; he loved its seasons, its trees, and its enduring vitality. During his lifetime, he served as president of the Philadelphia All Star-Forum and chairman and president of the Concerto Soloists Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (now known as the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia). He was also a member of Mensa and the Committee of Seventy. Jim will be remembered as strategic, purposeful, contemplative, devoted to music, education, and self-improvement. An engineer at heart, he applied math to everything from tennis to jazz. Even into his 90s, Jim took jazz piano lessons; he revered the complexity of the genre, studying music theory and diving deep into the mathematics of chord progressions and variations. Jim's greatest talent, however, was his ability to adapt — to the real estate market, to technological advances, to changing social mores. Never forgetting his firsthand experiences with prejudice, he was always willing to unpack his preconceptions and take a second look. His legacy, therefore, will not only be the maroon-and-white Marks & Co. signs that dot the Main Line, but also the curiosity and open mindedness that his family will forever carry. Jim was predeceased by his parents; his first wife, Merle Kemp Marks; and his second wife, Peggy Jones Marks. He is survived by his son, James D. Marks (Mark R. Scott), and his grandchildren, Ann Scott Marks and Peter Scott Marks. A Memorial Service will be announced. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to The Constellation Project, 142 West 57th St., Fl. 11, New York, NY 10019, www.theconstellationproject.org.