James W. Hand, Jr., 95, of Edgecomb, passed away at his home on Oct. 16. He had been a resident of Edgecomb since 1972.
He was born in Elizabeth, N.J., the son of James Wallace Hand and Grace (Mooney) Hand.
In 1945 he married Grace Campbell, who predeceased him in 1993. For 25 years they lived in Green Village, Harding Township, N.J. From 1959-1964, they played primary roles in the establishment of the Great Swamp as a National Wildlife Refuge, the first federally designated wilderness area east of the Mississippi. As a founding member of the Great Swamp Committee, which grew to become the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, he was also a charter member of that larger organization, serving as both its Secretary and a Trustee.
Mr. Hand graduated from Pingry School, Elizabeth, N.J. in 1930, and from Bowdoin College in 1934. During WWII he served with the U.S. Army Medical Service in Italy and North Africa. He was employed from 1935-1972 by Standard Oil Company, now Exxon-Mobil, as a research chemist.
He is survived by his sister, Lois Dunn of Hillside, N.J.; and nieces, Jane McCarthy Rosenblum, also of Hillside, N.J., and Anne McCarthy Forbes of Acton, Mass.
The family requests that any memorial gifts be made to the Bowdoin College Alumni Fund, 4100 College Station, Brunswick, ME 04011-8432, or to the Boothbay Region Humane Society/Lincoln County Animal Shelter, 45 Montgomery Rd., Boothbay Harbor, ME 04538.
Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Mayo & Daigle Funeral Home, 40 Federal St., Wiscasset.
