James S. Beckley

Jim graduated from The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, N.J. in 1959. He attended the University of Pennsylvania studying first in pre-med then economics. He was a member of the football and track teams. By his own admission, he partied heartily at Delta Tau Delta. In 1962 he joined the Marine Corps as an Aviation Cadet and was commissioned as an Officer and Naval Aviator in 1964. Jim served as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam flying into active battle fields to extract wounded and delivering them to safety on hospital ships. He recorded more than 90 aircraft carrier landings.

In 1966, upon the sudden death of his father, Jim took over the family business which he liquidated before beginning work toward his MBA. He never lived in Warren again, but never forgot his hometown and what it meant to his family. In 1973 he returned to Philadelphia and earned an MBA from the Wharton School graduating in 1975. His entrepreneurial ambitions took him to Miami, FL where he eventually met Lina Maria Toro. They married in Miami in 1982. While in Miami, Jim was a Broker Associate with the Allen Morris Company.

This experience in real estate sales and development transitioned well to Boulder, CO where the couple moved with their then 6 year old son, Spencer, in 1992. In his inimitable fashion, Jim jumped into the Boulder scene with gusto! Jim joined the real estate firm of Irwin & Hendrick before going out on his own. He teamed up with several great partners and began 15 plus years of developing commercial properties in the area.

Jim had a most fulfilling association with Boulder Valley Rotary Club. His most recent efforts with Rotary, as well as individually, involved education and women’s health and hygiene in Zambia. Jim spearheaded the building and outfitting of a science lab, computer lab, library and ablution station at Matula Day School in Mfuwe, Eastern Province, Zambia. Jim saw education as the great equalizer and the most effective means of empowering Africans, especially women, to have greater control over their own future and the future of Zambia. Jim has sponsored close to a dozen graduates of Matula Day School as they pursue advanced degrees in medicine, nursing, accounting, air traffic control and music in Lusaka.

Jim’s love of sailing and flying continued throughout his life. He plied the waters of the British Virgin Islands on a succession of sailboats as well as the coasts of France and Croatia. In his single engine Bonanza, Jim flew extensively throughout the American West, including Colorado, Wyoming New Mexico and California.

Jim and Lina loved to spend time in Paris, France. Jim’s love of history, particularly the American Revolutionary War, provided the inspiration for many adventures in Paris and France at large as they explored connections between the founding fathers and the French generals and diplomats invaluable to winning independence from England.

The Marquis de Lafayette was a particularly favorite historical figure of Jim’s. After financing his own army to join in the battle for American independence at 19, Lafayette went on to become a surrogate son to George Washington. He fought and was wounded in the Battle of Brandywine and was instrumental in the defeat of Cornwallis in the Battle of Yorktown.

The Lafayette coat of arms features the motto “Cur Non”, a Latin phrase directly translated to Why Not? This phrase embodies Jim’s spirit of curiosity, bold action and knack for finding and seizing opportunity. It describes his unwillingness to accept limitations and his unflagging optimism. Jim’s joie de vivre was outweighed only by his big heart and love for his family and friends. His outsize presence and charismatic smile will be greatly missed.

Jim is survived by his wife of 43 years, Lina Toro, their son, Spencer, of Denver, CO, his sister Joan Beckley Clark, brother-in-law Robert F. Clark of Sonoma, CA, nephews R.B. Clark of Alpine Meadows, CA and Stewart F. Clark of San Rafael, CA in addition to 4 grand-nieces and 1 grand-nephew.

A Celebration of Life will follow at a later date in Boulder, Colorado. Donations may be made in Jim’s memory to MIGHTi.org, a non-profit doing great work in Zambia, or the Warren Public Library.