James Gray Maxwell Jr.

1944 - 2026

James Gray Maxwell, Jr., 81, a decorated Vietnam War veteran and longtime Washington, DC, area business executive, died Jan. 1 after an extended illness.

Mr. Maxwell was born in Washington, DC, and graduated in 1962 from Bethesda Chevy Chase High School. He spent one year pursuing an architecture degree at the Georgia Institute of Technology before transferring to the University of Maryland at College Park in 1963, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1967.

After joining the United States Army in 1967, Mr. Maxwell earned a commission as a second lieutenant in the Ordnance Corps. In July 1968, he married Kathy Dean Inman of Baltimore, and within months the couple was transferred to Germany, where Mr. Maxwell was promoted to first lieutenant and spent two years assisting with Army railway operations.

In 1970, Mr. Maxwell was promoted to captain and deployed to Long Bihn, Vietnam. After a one-year tour, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Achievement in Ground Operations Against Hostile Forces, with one Oak Leaf Cluster.

Mr. Maxwell began his civilian career as a production manager for Ford Motor in Ohio. Throughout his career, he held leadership positions with various companies, including Amtrak, American Satellite Company, Computer Sciences Corporation, Alexander & Alexander, AON, and Chevy Chase Bank. He retired in 2008 as associate vice president of corporate purchasing for the National Association of Securities Dealers (later known as FINRA).

Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Kathy Maxwell, of Clarksburg, Md., and two daughters, Alison Maxwell, of Arlington, Va., and Melissa Corrada of Richmond, Va. James Gray Maxwell, Jr.