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HAMILTON: James H. Reynolds, 86, of 87 Hamilton St., died May 14, 2017 at Crouse Community Center. He was born May 21, 1930, son of J. Howard and Katherine Endress Reynolds. He was a professor of psychology at Colgate University and retired in 1996.
Born and raised in Plainfield, NJ, Jim received his B.A. from Dartmouth College in 1951 soon after marrying his high school sweetheart, Shirl, who had completed her nursing degree (R.N.) at Skidmore. They were married for over 66 years. Jim joined the Air Force and was stationed at Sampson Air Force Base in Geneva, NY from 1951-1955, where their two sons were born. The family moved to West Long Branch, NJ, in 1955 and Jim taught 5th grade while working towards his Masters in Education at Rutgers University, which he completed in 1958 after the birth of his daughter.
Jim earned his Ph.D. in Psychology at Syracuse University in 1961, which included a Clinical Internship at the Syracuse Psychiatric Hospital. He then worked for two years in experimental psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Jim was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Human Learning at the University of California – Berkeley from 1963-1964 and was offered a faculty position in the Psychology Department at Colgate for the Fall 1964 semester.
During segments of his 32 years at Colgate, Jim was Department Chair as well as Division Head. One of his colleagues wrote that Jim, “guided not only the psychology department, but also the faculty as one of its most trusted leaders. Jim argued points in his quiet, uncannily conversational tones for the highest of institutional standards, right on the money, holding us to the mark.” One of his greatest contributions to Colgate was his work with colleagues to start the computer center that later grew into the computer science department. Jim used computing to analyze statistics for his experimental psychology research related to verbal learning and memory, and authored the book Computing in Psychology: An Introduction to Programming Methods and Concepts (1987) in addition to numerous other publications.
Jim’s favorite pastimes were flying in his Cessna 150 over the central New York landscape, fly fishing for trout in nearby streams, reading, working on his computer, strumming a guitar, and listening to his kids play music. Undoubtedly, his favorite activity was driving. He and Shirl drove in all 50 states and in more than 20 countries.
Jim always felt extremely fortunate to have had a rewarding career at Colgate and to have lived in Hamilton. He referred to Hamilton as an ideal place to live, work, and raise a family. His family will remember his wonderful sense of humor and his thoughtful insight and point of view regarding almost anything.
Jim is survived by his wife, Shirley; children James H. Reynolds III of Brevard, NC, Jeffrey C. Reynolds of Hopkinton, MA, and Leslie R. Sautter of Charleston, SC; 9 grandchildren; 1 great-grandchild; and sister Phyllis R. Kapner of Plainfield, NJ.
Burial will be conducted privately with family members. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Jim’s name may be made to the Hamilton Public Library (13 Broad St.), or Department of Psychology, Colgate University, both in Hamilton, NY 13346.
Arrangements have been entrusted to Burgess & Tedesco Funeral Home, Hamilton, NY.

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