In Memoriam: Longtime Fair Havenite, Volunteer Jim Ingle, 88

Longtime Fair Havenite James “Jim” Flagg Ingle passed away on July 5 after a protracted struggle with a bone marrow disorder.  He was 88

Jim was an engineer who devoted himself to making his family, community, and country a better place.  Jim served his community as: chairman of a canoe club, an Indian Guide chief, a canoeing instructor for the Fair Haven Public Schools 6th grade Stokes State Forest camp, chairman of the local YMCA maintenance subcommittee, chairman of the Fair Haven Fields Advisory Committee (FHFAC), 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 and is survived by his beloved wife Audrey, his three children, and six grandchildren.

Loved ones of Jim Ingle in his obituary

Born in Rochester, NY, on June 22, 1933, to Dorothy Flagg Ingle and Mark James Ingle, Jim graduated from West High School (now Wilson Magnet School) in Rochester, NY, in 1951. He entered Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in the fall of 1951 and joined the Air Force ROTC.

He graduated from RPI in 1955 with a BS in electrical engineering and joined Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill. He was called to Air Force duty in 1956 in Washington, DC, 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 and was honorably discharged later that year. He later earned an MS in electrical engineering from New York University.

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 in Summit in July of 1959

Jim was transferred to the new Bell Labs facility in Holmdel in 1968 and continued to work there and at 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 Mark was born in 1961. His son Steve was born in 1964 and his daughter Jennifer in 1968.

A memorial will be held at the Thompson Memorial Home, Red Bank, on Saturday, July 17, from 1 to 2 p.m. with a service at 1:30. 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.

— Edited obituary provided by family to Thompson Memorial Home