James (“Jim”) Flagg Ingle of Fair Haven passed away July 5, 2021, after a protracted struggle with a bone marrow disorder. Jim was an engineer who devoted himself to making his family, community and country a better place.
He was born June 22, 1933, in Rochester, New York, to Dorothy Flagg Ingle and Mark James Ingle. He graduated from West High School (now Wilson Magnet School) in Rochester in 1951. Jim entered Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the fall of 1951 and joined the Air Force ROTC. He graduated from RPI in 1955 with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering and joined Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill. He was called to Air Force duty in 1956 in Washington, D.C., with the 6970th Support Group that provided engineers to work on cryptography. While serving in the Air Force, he “volunteered” for one week of detached duty during the 1957 Cherry Blossom Festival as the designated escort for the Cherry Blossom Princess from Mississippi. He was honorably discharged later that year.
Jim returned to Bell Labs in 1957 in the Microwave Radio Department in Murray Hill. He met his wife-to-be, Audrey Doris Schmidt, at the Central Club in the Central Presbyterian Church in Summit in 1958. They were married July 1959 in Summit and moved to New Providence shortly after the birth of their son Mark in 1961. Also in that year, Jim earned a master’s in electrical engineering from New York University.
Jim transferred to the new Bell Labs facility in Holmdel in 1968 and continued to work for Bell Labs and Bellcore until 1993. During his career, Jim was awarded numerous U.S. Patents and published myriad technical papers on radio and television transmission measurement and testing standards. Jim’s son Steve was born in 1964 and his daughter Jennifer was born in 1968. Jim served his community as chairman of a canoe club; an Indian Guide Chief; a canoeing instructor for the Fair Haven Public Schools sixth-grade Stokes State Forest camp; as chairman of the local YMCA maintenance subcommittee; chairman of the Fair Haven Fields Advisory Committee; vice-chairman of Fair Haven Planning Board from 1985 to 2019; and as a member and usher at Red Bank United Methodist Church. Jim enjoyed swimming and body surfing at Surfrider and Sands beach clubs.
In retirement he loved to travel with Audrey to elder hostels and would regale the Root Beer and Checkers Club, and frequently his grandchildren, with formal presentations about trips to places such as the Panama Canal and the Grand Canyon. Above all Jim loved traveling to see his family for holidays and special occasions. He is survived by his beloved wife Audrey, his three children and six grandchildren.
A memorial gathering will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 17, at Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank, with a service at 1:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to your local YMCA, Fair Haven Fields, or any other charitable cause that makes the world a better place.
The article originally appeared in the July 15 – 21, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
