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Professor Ernest P. James

How Many Professors Care About You After You Leave School?
By: Dick Lessard

Ernest JamesProfessor Ernie James was the finest man I ever knew. He personified the words dedicated, committed, loyal and brave, especially at the end when he courageously accepted his lot and worried more about being a burden than about the pain he suffered.



I’m Dick Lessard, and I was a member of the Lowell Tech class of 1966. That’s a class that Ernie always remembered fondly because our freshman president, Rick Hoeske, had the wisdom to ask him to become our class advisor. He became so much more than that, keeping us on the straight path, counseling anyone who needed advice, and helping us decide what we were going to do with the rest of our lives. He was not above scolding us like a caring parent would when we needed it. But mostly, he loved to tease us with his wondrous (and should I say it?) naughty sense of humor. He was still in his 40s then but had a much younger mentality. Having him as a counselor was a God-given blessing.

I had much more contact with him than most of our class because I was class president a few times and also took one of his courses. But he took particular interest in me in my freshman year when he first heard me play Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White on my trumpet while auditioning for our class talent show, which we called COMARIETY. The first thing he ever said about me was ‘He’s in the Show!’ That was another aspect of Ernie that was so rare in the other class advisors. He took great pride encouraging and nurturing the artistic side of us engineers, scientists and industrial managers. We put that show on for three years. It was brilliant, fun and always a highlight of the year for the entire school. Ernie was the guiding force behind it.

I also mentioned that I took Ernie’s course, Quantitative Analysis. Now, I have had more professors than most after spending 10 years being educated beyond high school. I know the difference between a poor professor and a good professor. Ernie was the best. Ernie’s course was supposed to be about Chemistry. But it was so much more. First, it was based almost completely on water chemistry that Ernie had learned in his own education. I didn’t realize it until much later, but that course inspired me to work the bulk of my 34 year ExxonMobil career working on water pollution issues. But his course was also about ethics, behavior, grammar, spelling, perfection and math. He really wanted you to learn the material and while you were at it, become a better person. And his notes to you when you made a mistake on his exams were treasures and also sometimes suggestive (at least mine were). I respected him so much as a professor that I couldn’t bring myself to call him Ernie (which he encouraged) until I was in my 50s.

That brings us to life beyond Lowell Tech. We all went our separate ways and lost track of various folks. I kept in touch with Ernie through the 70s and 80s, but I wasn’t very diligent because I was fighting my way up the company ladder. It was my wife, Nancy, who renewed our relationship with Ernie and Lucille. Ernie really took to my blonde wife, and he always had a twinkle in his eye when we were together. With Nancy writing to him to sustain the relationship, we became closer than ever, and he has been sending us a letter every week for many years. He could find the most bizarre news articles and add a sort of Ann Landers style commentary.

This brings me to why Ernie did what he did. It clearly didn’t bring him a lot of wealth. He was only going to teach at Lowell for a year or two but stayed for 40. Many of his students ended up making loads of money, but all he had after his teaching days were over was a relatively small pension that he’s lived on for 23 years. What he did earn was the respect and gratitude of all those students who passed through his classes and his continuing education program and who (like me) were positively influenced by him. In that respect, he gained riches I can only dream about. He was also a very devoted husband and father, and a proud grandfather. He became a second father to me and Nancy and we are going to continue enjoying his letters and commentary for the rest of our lives. I miss him very much. I want to announce that, working with the Independent University Alumni Association and ExxonMobil, we will be establishing the Ernest P. James Memorial Scholarship Fund for those of you who might want to participate.

How many professors care about you after you leave school? No one cared more than Ernie.

Here’s to you, Ernie. Thanks for coming into our lives.

If you would like to donate to the Ernest P. James Memorial Scholarship Fund, please send a check made out to IUAAL to:

IUAAL
P.O. Box 242
Lowell, MA 01853
Please write Ernie’s name on the bottom of the check to assure that it is allocated to the correct fund.

 
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