James McCue Bobbitt

James McCue Bobbitt passed away November 22, 2021 after being injured in an automobile accident in Windham, Connecticut. He was on the cusp of 92.  He was born on January 18, 1930 in Charleston, West Virginia to James Sterling Bobbitt and Grace McCue Bobbitt and was their only treasured child. 

He was a wonderful husband, father and grandfather who cared for and helped so many people that crossed his path in life. James was first, foremost, and always a chemist and a dedicated teacher. While he also made wine from his Twenty Mile vineyard in Atwoodville, raised bees, and for years maintained a large garden, chemistry and teaching were his passions. He was experimenting and writing scientific papers late into his 80's. He was a son of West Virginia and graduated from West Virginia University where he met his wife, Jane Ann Hickman, "the smartest student in the class." He went on to study at Ohio State and Wayne State Universities before becoming a distinguished Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Connecticut. He eventually became Professor Emeritus there, and loved the "big Chemistry Set they let me play with." He was the author of several books, thousands of scientific papers and reviews and was a kind and gentle mentor to many students. He was an avid reader of novels, traveler, adventurer and cook. He often said that he had been totally blessed in life. He is survived by his wife, Jane Ann and his three children, John, Annie, and Laura, as well as a loving extended family including his precious grandchildren Ian, Eric and Brittany.  We will all greatly miss his kindness, deep love of gentle and humorous tales, and his dedication to science and teaching. He embodied the notion of a renaissance man. A brief service will be held in Storrs at a later date.