James Crew Alexander

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of James (Jay/Jim) Crew Alexander, beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle on May 19, 2021 at the age of 79. James is survived by his wife, Rosemary Alexander; his daughters, Stacey Sperry and Blythe Alexander; his grandchildren, Alexa and Lucia Sperry; his sister, Jean Small; his niece and nephew, Kalen Edwards and Douglas Small; and grandniece and grandnephew, Dalen and Bennett Small. James was born in Ohio on March 22, 1942, and grew up in Ohio, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. He graduated from Mount Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, PA in 1960. He then graduated from Johns Hopkins University in Maryland in 1964, having been elected into Phi Beta Kappa. He continued at Johns Hopkins to earn his Ph.D. in mathematics in 1968. In 1969, he joined the Department of Mathematics faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). While at UMD, he also served as Program Officer at the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a time. In 1998, he left UMD to join the Mathematics and Cognitive Science Department at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) as Levi Kerr Professor and Department Chair until 2008. After retiring from CWRU, he worked again as a Program Officer at the NSF until fully retiring in 2012. In 2014, a former UMD Ph.D. student of Jay's endowed the James C. Alexander Prize for Graduate Research in Mathematics in his honor. Jay met his wife Rosemary in 1971, and they were married April 1, 1972. With his wife, he took two academic sabbaticals, moving to Mexico City, Mexico in 1974, and then to Bonn, (West) Germany in 1978. Jay and Rosemary raised their two daughters in Ellicott City, MD, before moving on for some years to Ohio, Virginia, and then back to Maryland. Jay was a devoted father, doting grandfather, and adored his wife. He enjoyed taking his wife on dates for most of their 50 years together, frequently attending the theater, concerts and lectures. Jay and Rosemary also enjoyed many trips together traveling the world. He was a life-long learner, an avid reader, played golf, badminton, tennis, and softball, as well as coached youth softball. After he retired, he learned and enjoyed cooking. His sense of humor, wit, charm, and ability to craft a good joke carried on throughout his last days. At this time, because of the pandemic, no memorial service is planned. Jay has donated his body to both the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and to the Maryland State Anatomy Board. His family would appreciate anyone who wants to share a memory, photos or video about Jay to post them here. We have also set up an email account you can use to contact us (Rosemary, Stacey, and Blythe): ProfJcAlex@gmail.com. In lieu of flowers, please donate to https://www.lls.org/myeloproliferative-neoplasms/myelofibrosis in his name.