James P. Ingraham's Obituary
James P. Ingraham, 92, of Fort Myers, Florida, passed away peacefully on Sunday, December 27, 2015, surrounded by his family. He was born on February 9, 1923, in Portland, Maine, the son of the late Henry Ingraham and the late Gertrude (Elwell) Ingraham. Jim is survived by his wife Ruth (Slim), his son Pete and granddaughter Josie; and was predeceased by his daughter Stefanie, his brothers Carl, Bill, and Hank and his sister Janet.In Jim’s words: “I joined the Marine Corps right out of high school in 1942 and served in the First Marine Division assault force on Peleliu and Okinawa. I also served in the occupation of Japan.Until the end of World War II, I never thought about going to college or becoming a writer. But the government gave veterans the chance of a lifetime, and I obtained a bachelor’s and a master’s degree at NYU and would have gone on for a Ph.D. but the money ran out. I later obtained a doctorate in Florida and served for thirty-five years as a professor of history at Bryant University in Rhode Island. Upon retirement I served as an adjunct professor of history at Edison College in Florida where I now live with my wife of some forty-seven wonderful years. While at Bryant I served as chairman of the Social Sciences Department and was the founding president of the first faculty union of a four-year college to achieve collective bargaining in the United States. I quit teaching at the age of eighty and devoted my time to writing fiction. I’ve published nine stories in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and two novels, REMAINS TO BE SEEN and SAHARA DUST. I devote three hours a day, every day, to writing fiction.I have been a skip chaser in Detroit and New York, a cello player in the Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra, an extra in two movies in Los Angeles, a portrait painter, a piano player in bars in Detroit and Providence, Rhode Island. I’ve been in jail in Japan and kicked out of mansions in Beverly Hills for party crashing. I was a paper boy on the waterfront in Portland, Maine, where my series character, Duff Kerrigan, now lives and works. I twice ran away from home and was expelled from high school for knocking down a priest who belted me in the back of the head for not doing my homework. At another high school I earned letters in football and basketball. I sang in a cathedral choir and in the a cappella choir at Michigan State University. I wrote the English lyrics of a Rachmaninoff lieder for Bethany Beardsley’s senior recital, and I wrote the fight song still used by South Portland High School’s football team in Maine.People ask where I get my ideas and I say I don’t know. They just come from everyday observations. The varied experiences of my life have made me comfortable writing about the rich and the poor, the unknowns and the celebrated. I write not for fame or for wealth. I write because I enjoy writing.” Jim’s latest work, “Alice Stockbridge”, will be published, posthumously, in an upcoming edition of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to: Hope Hospice, Development Office, 9470 Health Park Circle, Fort Myers, FL 33908.Immediate funeral ceremonies are private. Arrangements have been entrusted to Fort Myers Memorial Gardens Funeral Home and Cemetery, 1589 Colonial Boulevard, Fort Myers, Florida 33907, (239) 936-0555.Those who would like to share a story, leave a tribute or offer condolences to the family should visit Mr. Ingraham’s memorial webpage at www.fortmyersmemorial.com and sign the guestbook.
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