Senior Lifetime Achievement Awards

James Aird Dorrance, P.E.

Slingerlands, New York

Birth Date: July 9, 1915

Faith Community: Westminster Presbyterian Church, Albany

Nominator: Dr. John M. Knighton

Early Life: Born in Montreal, Jim Dorrance was one of three children of Alice Aird Dorrance and Frank Young Dorrance. He had a brother, Aird Dorrance, and a sister, Marion Dorrance Norman (now deceased). Both of his parents were bom in Troy, New York. Jim attended Montreal West schools and, in his senior year, the New Hampton School in New Hampshire, from which he graduated in 1933. He was on the hockey and ski teams and received the Rensselaer Medal for having the highest marks in mathematics and science. Jim attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he was a member of Theta Xi Fraternity and played hockey. At RPI, he earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. While at RPI, he persuaded the school to restart its hockey program and helped organize a winter sports club.

 Family: Mr. Dorrance was married to Enid Hildebrand in 1939. They had two children -a son Jim and a daughter Mary. Jim is a self-employed computer programmer in Munich, Germany. Mary works for a mail catalog firm. Mr. Dorrance has one grandchild, Christopher, by his son Jim. In 1980, Mr. Dorrance married Dorothy Davies McCullough, a longtime friend of Enid.

 Career: Mr. Dorrance first worked as an estimator for the Dominion Engineering Company in Montreal for one year and in 1939 worked for the Rensselaer Value Company as its Ohio representative.

 Jim next was an equipment engineer for Wilbur Watson and Associates in Cleveland, designing and purchasing equipment for loading shells, etc., in war weaponry and serving as a consulting engineer for the Ravena Ordnance Plant prior to Pearl Harbor. As a U.S. Rubber plant engineer, Jim worked with the Marion Ordnance Plant in Ohio and the Charlotte Ordnance Plant in North Carolina until 1945, receiving an Army E for excellence for his service. After the war, he worked for Kenneth Reed, a consulting engineer in Cleveland, Ohio. Jim obtained his professional engineering license in Ohio.

 In 1947 Mr. Dorrance returned to the Capital area, where for more than 25 years he was a sales engineer and vice president for sales for H.P. Kimmey Co., distributor of industrial supplies in the Capital District. He next organized Vadco, Inc., which specialized in valves and fittings for such operations as the Knolls Atomic Power Lab; he was involved in that business for 25 years.

 Jim then became a senior sanitary engineer for the New York State Department of Health, where he reviewed plans for and inspected new construction. He oversaw rehabilitation of nursing homes and hospitals following the flood in Elmira and Corning in 1972, and testified at hearings on the closing of nonconforming nursing homes. In later years, he was a consulting engineer, in matters of health and safety in nursing homes, to sanitarians employed by the State Department of Health

 Volunteer Activities: Mr. Dorrance was the original coach of Peewee Hockey in Troy, coaching for 12 years. He coached high school hockey for one year. He also refereed high school and college hockey games.

Jim has been a deacon and an elder at First Presbyterian Church in Troy. For 25 years, he was treasurer of the Presbyterian Home in Troy. An active RPI alumnus, he has served in various official capacities, including that of president of the Troy chapter of the RPI Alumni Association, and is a member of the 50‑Year Club. He also was active in the Troy Rotary Club and was a member of the St. Andrews Society of Albany.

 Senior Activities: In his senior years, Mr. Dorrance became a gentleman farmer in Cropseyville, remodeling a 200-year-old house and undertaking raised-bed farming. He was treasurer of his investment club for four years. At Beverwyck, he has been an instructor in computers and member of the ABC Railroad and gives a monthly player­piano concert. He also has arranged for storage of altarpieces for the Protestant service at Beverwyck. He enjoys talking books.

Jim Dorrance has led an interesting, exciting life. Despite his busy career, he has found time to be active in his church, his community and athletics. Although he now must deal with the problems of macular degeneration and Parkinson's disease, he remains active and enjoys reading through talking books, involvement in computers, and helping others.