James Hopkins Wickersham Jr.

James Hopkins Wickersham Jr., 88, of Southport, Connecticut, died on August 20, 2017 after a brief illness. He was born in New York City on July 29, 1929, the son of James and Bertha (Tilney) Wickersham. He was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University, where he received his B.A. in 1951. He then served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Field Artillery. He was a vice president of the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, and a founder of the Park Avenue Bank. Mr. Wickersham served for many years as a director and the treasurer of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; he was also a director of the National Audubon Society. Mr. Wickersham was an experienced sailor, who skippered a series of yachts named "Gannet" in at least ten Bermuda races and the 1972 Trans-Atlantic race from Bermuda to Bayona, Spain. He sailed three times to Newfoundland. He was a member of the Cruising Club of America, the New York Yacht Club, and the Pequot Yacht Club. He could take a sun sight and a star sight, and could navigate safely into a fog-choked harbor relying on his compass, his charts, and the sounds of bell-buoys and breakers. He leaves his sons, Jay and Peter, his daughter, Tilney, and eight grandchildren. His later years were made happy by the love of Virginia Sanford. A memorial service will be held in Southport on Friday, September 15th at Trinity Episcopal Church at 3:30 PM, with a reception afterward at the Pequot Yacht Club. Contributions in Mr. Wickersham's memory can be made to the Mystic Seaport Museum or the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements. To send an online condolence, please visit: www.shaughnesseybanks.com

This obituary was originally published in Minuteman (Fairfield, CT).