James P. Albert, a longtime resident of Darien, passed away on Aug. 22 at Stamford Hospital at the age of 77. He was the husband of Darien Representative Town Meeting Member Lois Schneider.
Jim was born in Minneapolis on April 21, 1940 to Elwin and Kathryn (Damm) Albert. He grew up in several cities in the Midwest, spending summers working on the family farm in Utica, Minn.
He graduated from high school in Kalamazoo, Mich. and attended the University of Michigan before leaving for New York City where he lived until moving to Darien in 1976.
Jim started his career at Equitable Life as the computer programming profession was getting underway. Over a long career in computing, Jim wrote systems programs and managed services for major corporations such as Bankers Trust, Time Inc., and CBS, where he met his wife, Lois.
As the computer field expanded, Jim moved into telecommunications and did network design and implementation globally. His work cut across many fields including entertainment, banking, insurance, health-care, and technology.
Jim was an ardent bicyclist. For many years, he and his friends would ride 75 miles each weekend through the hills of Fairfield and Westchester counties. In the 1970s, he participated in state competitions and represented Connecticut in the Nationals in Milwaukee in 1979.
With retirement, Jim spent much of his time volunteering with local social services organizations. He invested more time in his art and expanded from acrylics to wood sculptures and drawings like the one above.
In particular, he enjoyed creating wooden watermelon slices out of trees from his property for guests who visited his home for one of his scrumptious meals. People would always leave with leftovers and a memento that brought smiles to their faces.
In addition to his immediate family of Lois and Kendra, Jim is survived by his sisters: Sandy Rider (Bob) and Sue Lawrence (Phil); brother, Gene Albert (Barbara); his brother and sister-in-law, Seth and Susan Mason; many nieces, nephews, and great friends.
There will be a gathering to celebrate Jim’s life on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017 at 1 p.m. at the meeting room of The First Congregational Church in Darien.
In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Open Door Shelter, 4 Merritt St., Norwalk, CT 06854 or the Electronic Frontier Foundation (defending your rights in the digital world) 815 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA 94109