James G. Baldwin

James G. “Jim” Baldwin of Ponte Vedra Beach, FL passed away 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, and seven children – Leslie Hermansen (Terry) of Sandy, UT; James G. Baldwin, Jr. (JoAnn) of Branford, CT; Michael R. Baldwin of Brookfield, CT; Richard B. Baldwin (Joyce) of Santa Cruz, CA; Sarah Baldwin of San Marcos, CA; Joshua J. Baldwin of Monroe, CT; and Emily Baldwin Otterbacher (James) of Annapolis, MD; grandchildren – Whitney Criscola of San Diego, CA; Wesley J. Baldwin (Rachael) of San Diego, CA; Rosalind Baldwin (Matt) of Branford, CT; Sarah Elizabeth Baldwin and Michael Baldwin of Brookfield, CT; Reid Baldwin of Monroe, CT; Landon and Cole Otterbacher of Annapolis, MD. Mr. Baldwin is also survived by Sally’s children – Deborah Jayne Warren (Barry) of Durham, NH; Lisa Gray Snyder of Palm Beach, FL; Sheridan Douglas Snyder (Whitney) of Portland, OR; and her five grandchildren.

Mr. Baldwin graduated from Broadway High School in Seattle, WA 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 of 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, Tacoma, WA. 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, Pittsburgh until he retired in 1994. He continued as Director until 2001. Mr. Baldwin was a member of WeeBurn Country Club, Darien, CT and The Plantation of Ponte Vedra, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

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 10th at Palms Presbyterian Church at 11:00 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)