Necrology

James Campbell MacIntyre II '68

Jun. 11, 1946-Jan. 8, 2024

James Campbell MacIntyre II ’68 died on Jan. 8, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. Born in Gloversville, N.Y., on June 11, 1946, and raised nearby in Johnstown, he came to Hamilton from Johnstown High School. Preparing for a career in medicine, James majored in biology. A member of Delta Upsilon fraternity, he sang in the College Choir all four years and was a member of the Buffers during his junior and senior years.

From Hamilton, he went to Albany Medical College, completing his medical degree in 1972. James’s principal interest was mental health. Relocating to Los Angeles, he interned for one year at the University of Southern California Medical Center and subsequently completed his residency there in general psychiatry. From USC he went to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for a two-year fellowship in what would become his specialty: child and adolescent psychiatry. While in Los Angeles he met Susan Oliver, who, like James, was pursuing a career in medicine, in her case as a registered nurse. They were married on May 22, 1976, in South Pasadena, Calif. They had one daughter, Bonnie Ann.

In September 1978, Jim and Susan returned to New York State and settled in Delmar, where he had accepted an appointment as assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry of Albany Medical College. The following spring, he was promoted to head of the Division of Child Psychiatry at Albany and was also appointed chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the Capitol District Psychiatric Center. Subsequently, he was appointed clinical director and chief of psychiatry for the Bureau of Children and Families in the New York State Office of Mental Health.

The high quality of James’s work was noticed in the profession. In 1984, he was elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry as well as to membership in the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honorary society. Three years later, he was elected as a life fellow in the American Psychiatric Association (APA), an honor reserved for those who, according to the APA’s description, have “demonstrated outstanding talents and abilities and made a significant contribution to the psychiatric profession.” 

His marriage to Susan having ended, he married Priscilla Claiborne on May 28, 1994, in Lenox, Mass. She was then director of the SUNY Press, and they reportedly first met at a wine tasting in Albany. Their marriage united two families, as both had daughters.

In 2005, after 27 years of practice in Albany, James and Priscilla left New York for Charlotte, N.C., where her elderly parents resided. Falsely characterized as his “retirement,” he in fact joined Atrium Health's Behavioral Health Charlotte team and devoted the next 12 years to full-time care of emotionally disturbed children, adolescents, and families. 

Once again, his profession continued to note his contributions. In 2009, he was elected secretary of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for a two-year term. In 2013, he received the academy’s somewhat whimsically titled Catcher in the Rye Award, given to one who has undertaken “outstanding advocacy efforts on behalf of children and adolescents.” The name, of course, refers to Holden Caulfield, the adolescent protagonist of J.D. Salinger’s novel who dreams of saving children before their bodies get lost to the rye’s edge.

At the end of January 2017, James officially retired from Carolinas Medical Center, but not completely. For a time, he continued part-time clinical work there.

As he reported in his 50th reunion yearbook, James continued singing in choirs and competitive barbershop choirs and quartets. He took up watercolor painting and rekindled his interest in the acoustic guitar, which, presumably, had been languishing in its case during his many years of active practice. He and Priscilla also traveled to Scotland, on one occasion to visit the ancestral homeland of Clan MacIntyre in Argyll, as well as to London, Paris, Florence, and Rome. They also visited “New Scotland,” better known as Nova Scotia.

James felt his time at Hamilton was “a great experience and education and preparation for life.” Beyond the quality of the courses that prepared him for medical school, he said in his 50th reunion yearbook that he also treasured his “exposure to non-science courses (e.g. philosophy, economics, English composition, English literature, and art history). Taking public speaking with Professor [Warren] Wright might be the most valuable/useful undergraduate course for my post-Hamilton career and life experiences.” Among the mix of memorable experiences he cited in his 40th reunion yearbook were: singing in the choir and the Buffers, the social life of houseparties, and “long-distance rolls” to various women’s colleges. He was a regular donor to the Hamilton Fund.

James C. MacIntyre II was preceded in death by his grandfather, Edward C. MacIntyre, Class of 1905, and his father, James C. MacIntyre ’30. He is survived by his brother Bruce C. MacIntyre ’70 as well as his wife, daughter, stepdaughter, and three grandchildren.

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