James N. Donaldson
1940-2013
James N. Donaldson, 73, of Fairfield, Conn., passed away Thursday, July 18, 2013, after a brief illness.
He was born in March 1940, in Canonsburg, a son of the late Attorney James Reed Donaldson and Alice Neill Donaldson.
Mr. Donaldson grew up in East Washington and was a 1958 graduate of East Washington High School. He obtained his bachelor’s of arts in political science from Westminster College in 1962 and attended the University of Pittsburg Law School from 1962 to 1964. Changing focus, he received his master’s in education degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1965, doing his educational internship at Bedford Junior High school in Westport, Conn. He continued his educational career teaching at Westport’s Colytown Junior High School from 1966 to 1967.
In July 1967, he joined Bankers Trust Co., now Deutsche Bank, in New York City, N.Y., first as a trust administrator until 1970, then as assistant trust officer to 1973, when he became trust officer and manager of the White Plains, N.Y. Bankers Trust Office, a position he held until 1976. During the remainder of his years with Bankers Trust, he was in charge of the trust administrative unit, becoming a vice president in 1976, group manager for the Personal Trust Management Group until 1982 and section head for the Private Clients Group.
In 1983, he joined Chemical Bank in New York City as vice president, director of sales, later becoming head of the trust and estate administration unit. Chase Manhattan Bank, JPMorgan Chase, brought him on board in 1990 as vice president in wealth management advisory and then in global trust and fiduciary, where he also was responsible for Fiduciary Liaison to U.S. Private Banking and Affiliate Banks until 2001.
Leaving the New York City commute behind, he joined Hudson United Bank, which merged with TD Bank, N.A., in Westport, Conn., as senior vice president and regional manager of the Wealth Management Group, responsible for administration, investment and business development for fiduciary services in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. NewAlliance Bank, now First Niagara, recruited him in 2008 as vice president and relationship manager responsible for opening their first Wealth Management Office in Fairfield County. He retired in 2010 to do wealth management consulting.
Further education included attending Heckerling Institute of Estate Planning at the University of Miami Law School, Corporate Finance and Capital Markets Innovation and Corporate Trust School (Cannon Financial) at Boston University, as well as advanced domestic and international tax and estate planning courses. He had administered estates throughout the United States and abroad, particularly in France. His credentials include Certified Trust and Financial Advisor, Accredited Estate Planner, Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and Certified Corporate Trust specialist.
Professional affiliations include the Estate Planning Council of New York City (board of directors, 1988 to 1991, 1997 to 2000, secretary, treasure and vice president, 2001-04, president 2004-05); Estate Planning Council of Westchester County, N.Y., president, 1987-88; Estate Planning Council of Rockland County, New York (president, 1984-85); Estate Planning Council of Lower Fairfield County; Connecticut Tax and Estate Planning Council; and STEP, (International) Society for Trust and Estate Practitioners. He also was a member of American Bankers Association, serving on ABA Conference Planning Committee, 2000-01.
He was an instructor for the New York Institute of Finance, teaching its international estate planning course in New York and Florida. He served on the editorial advisory board of Trusts and Estates Magazine and authored several articles for trust and estate journals as well as having done a television interview. He also had been a lecturer for Bank Marketing Association conferences. He was a member of planned giving committees for both the University of Pittsburgh and Arthritis Foundation of New York. A member of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity, he was honored by the National Fraternity in 2006 by being in the first group of Phi Tai’s to be inducted into their newly created Leadership Hall of Fame, along with Paul Newman, astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao and business CEO’s, among others. His accomplishments are recorded in Who’s Who In Finance and Industry, Who’s Who In America and Who’s Who in the World.
Deceased is a sister, Laura Jane Donaldson, for whom he was the bone marrow donor when she was the seventh person selected for the experimental Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Wash., in the 1970s.
Surviving are his wife of 46 years, Wilma Crankshaw Donaldson of Fairfield; two brothers, John Clement Donaldson and sister-in-law Carol Clokey Donaldson of Charlotte, N.C., and Robert McIlvane Donaldson and sister-in-law Jodi Hitzke Donaldson of Moscow, Idaho; two nephews, Edward Samuel Donaldson and wife Bethany Cathey Donaldson of Charlotte and Aaron James Donaldson of Moscow; a niece, Storey Linn Donaldson of Moscow; two grandnephews, Stephen Edward and Luke James Donaldson; a grandniece, Catherine Scarlett Donaldson, all of Charlotte; and a cousin, Thomas Edward Neill and wife Jane Meis Neill and their son, David Thomas Neill of Waukeshaw, Wis.
Friends will be received from 1 to 3 and 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in Piatt and Barnhill Funeral Home, 420 Locust Avenue, Washington, where services will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 27. Interment will follow in Washington Cemetery.
Charitable contributions may be made to the Arthritis Foundation, Leukemia Society or Dr. Gertrude A. Barber Institute, 100 Barber Place, Erie, PA 16507. Condolences may be expressed at www.familyremembers.com. Piatt and Barnhill Funeral Directors Inc., Charles R. Piatt, owner/supervisor, and Lawrence K. Donovan, director.