WILMINGTON — James McPherson Proctor III died on March 27, 2023 at Trinity Grove in his hometown of Wilmington, NC.
He was born in Washington, DC, on October 3, 1937, the son of James McPherson Proctor, Jr. and Sarah Stryker Proctor. He attended Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) and earned a Navy officer training scholarship to Princeton University, where he graduated with honors in 1959 and was captain of the varsity swim team. He served on active duty as a Marine Corps lieutenant in 1959-62.
In 1960 he married Judith Lynn Mattson. They had three children: James Mattson Proctor, of Rockville, Md., (grandchildren Joshua and Jason); Thomas McPherson Proctor, of Sonoma, Calif. (Eliana, Talia); and Susan Elizabeth Proctor, of Potomac Md., d.2016, (Rachel Clair, Julia Clair). His wife Judy passed away in 1984.
He graduated from Georgetown Law Center in 1966 and practiced law in Washington, D.C.
He became Associate General Counsel of the US Small Business Administration, prior to beginning a long career with General Investment Funds, in Chevy Chase, Md, the investment arm of General Tire, a large diversified manufacturer. He was president of GIF Properties, Inc. until his retirement.
He was a skier and motorcyclist. He quit golf in favor of tennis, sailing and bicycling. But his main enthusiasm was mountain hiking, and he climbed Mt Kilimanjaro (Africa- 19,000 feet) at age 50 — also Mt Whitney (Calif-14,500’ twice), Pike’s Peak (Colorado-14,100’), Mauna Kea (Hawaii- 13,800’) and many others.
He compiled a detailed family history back to the 1600s, and found three Mayflower voyagers and a signer of the Declaration of Independence (Samuel Chase) among his direct ancestors.
He moved to Wilmington in 2005. Family includes his sisters Nancy Proctor Bride of South Carolina and Elizabeth (Betsy) Proctor Jennings of Utah. His brother David died in 2009.
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