James G. “Jim” Baldwin of Ponte Vedra Beach died May 30, 2017. He was born March 17, 1925, in Seattle, Washington, the son of Harry G. Baldwin and Eleanor Ann Mullinex.
Mr. Baldwin leaves his devoted and loving wife of 24 years, Sally Jayne Ferguson Baldwin; seven children, Leslie Hermansen (Terry) of Sandy, Utah; James G. Baldwin, Jr. (JoAnn) of Branford, Connecticut; Michael R. Baldwin of Brookfield, Connecticut; Richard B. Baldwin (Joyce) of Santa Cruz, California; Sarah Baldwin of San Marcos, California; Joshua J. Baldwin of Monroe, Connecticut; and Emily Baldwin Otterbacher (James) of Annapolis, Maryland; and grandchildren, Whitney Criscola and Wesley J. Baldwin (Rachael) of San Diego; Rosalind Baldwin (Matt) of Branford, Connecticut; Sarah Elizabeth Baldwin and Michael Baldwin of Brookfield, Connecticut; Reid Baldwin of Monroe, Connecticut; and Landon and Cole Otterbacher of Annapolis, Maryland.
Mr. Baldwin is also survived by Sally’s children, Deborah Jayne Warren (Barry) of Durham, New Hampshire; Lisa Gray Snyder of Palm Beach; Sheridan Douglas Snyder (Whitney) of Portland, Oregon; and her five grandchildren.
Mr. Baldwin graduated from Broadway High School in Seattle, Washington in 1942. He attended The University of Washington while concurrently serving in the NROTC. He pledged Phi Delta Theta and served as president of the fraternity in 1945. That same year he graduated cum laude with a B.S. in chemical engineering and was commissioned ensign in the U.S. Navy. He served one additional year until he was honorably discharged in June 1946. His last assignment was navigator of the hospital ship USS Tranquility in the Pacific Theatre.
He received his MBA degree from Harvard Business School in May 1948 and went on to a successful business career with responsibility for virtually every aspect of business organization, including engineering and production, sales and marketing, research and development, human relations, finance and treasury, legal and patents and external relations with shareholders. His business career began at PennSalt Chemicals Corporation in Tacoma, Washington. He continued with the chemical subsidiary of Union Oil Co. of California. He was group vice president and director of Hooker Chemical when it was acquired in 1968 by Occidental Petroleum Corp.; president and chief operation officer of United States Filter Corporation; senior vice president of Airco, predecessor to BOC Group; and managing director of BOC Group, PLC (a UK company). His last position was chairman and CEO of Carbide Graphite Group in Pittsburgh until he retired in 1994. He continued as director until 2001. Mr. Baldwin was a member of WeeBurn Country Club in Darien, Connecticut, and The Plantation at Ponte Vedra.
Mr. Baldwin’s generosity and kindness to others was widespread and well known. His deep faith, love and dedication to Palms Presbyterian Church gave him the strength to weather debilitating illnesses. On weekends, he enjoyed sailing on his sailboat Joshemy and playing golf with his many friends.
His family is most grateful to his loyal, gifted and skilled caregivers.
A memorial service celebrating Jim’s life will take place on Saturday, June 10 at Palms Presbyterian Church at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Palms Presbyterian Church (www.palmschurch.org), The Smile Train (https://mysmiletrain.org) or Community Hospice of NE Florida (https://supportcommunityhospice.com/donate).
Please visit the online Tribute at www.quinn-shalz.com. Services are under the direction and care of Quinn-Shalz Family Funeral Home.
