James Joseph InmanAge: 87 • ShelburneJames Joseph Inman, 87, died peacefully on April 4, 2017 at The Residence at Shelburne Bay, Shelburne, VT, where he had lived since December 2013. Jim lived a long, full life; his ready smile and generous spirit will be missed by family and friends alike.Jim was born on November 14, 1929, in Yonkers, NY to Margaret Nestor of Athlone, Ireland and Joseph Stager, Yonkers, NY. Jim's mother Margaret (Peggy) was an immigrant from Ireland, arriving in the US via Ellis Island in 1926. Joe Stager was a court clerk and baseball player, who died suddenly of pneumonia when Jim was three years old. In 1935, Peggy married Frank C. Inman, the only father Jim ever knew. With his younger brother Joe, they grew up in modest circumstances in Yonkers, NY. Both a scholar and an athlete, Jim was a member of the Gorton High School National Honor Society, with varsity letters in basketball, track and cross country, graduating in 1947.Jim attended MIT on a full scholastic scholarship, where he continued his athletics as well, playing on MIT's varsity basketball team. His MIT experience was interrupted by the Korean War, where Jim was stationed in Germany for three years, working on code cracking, intercepting communications from Russia, and in his spare time perfecting his golf game playing on the antenna-tower field. In 1953, he returned to MIT, graduated with a BS degree in Industrial Management, and met and married Judith Evelyn Hinton from Toronto, Canada with whom he had four children. The family lived in Meadville, PA where Jim became marketing manager of Westinghouse Electric Co, Industrial Heating Division, before establishing his own manufacturing representative agency, Inman Associates, Inc. in Tarrytown NY in 1960. Jim's passion was golf - in 1966, he scored his first hole in one. As his business matured, the family moved to Greenwich, CT, where Jim enjoyed taking his children to NY Yankees baseball and NY Giants football games. He continued to play golf and paddle tennis at his local country club, where he was a member of the Board of Directors. One of Jim's proudest contributions was to serve on the Board of Governors and as treasurer of Graham Windham Home, Children's Orphanage of NYC. He was chairman of the Building Committee for a major project. In 1986, he met and married Diana Carlisle of Newtown, CT. where they resided before later moving to Ridgefield, CT. Jim and Diana shared a love of music and travel, singing with choral music groups from CT and NYC on tours in Europe. With friends, they enjoyed small-ship adventure cruises, and winter vacations in Anguilla BWI. Jim made many visits to Ireland after re-connecting with his mother's family; he loved to hike and took several hut-to-hut hiking trips in the Swiss Alps, taking many photos, another hobby. Jim kept up his golf and basketball and in 1995 represented the state of Connecticut at the Senior Olympics in Men's Basketball, in San Antonio, TX. In 2002 he and Diana moved to Lakeview Terrace in Burlington, near his beloved mother-in-law, Lilian Baker Carlisle, to help her in her final years. Jim became a member of Burlington's First Congregational Church where he enjoyed singing in the choir. Jim was predeceased by younger brother Joseph Brian (2001), and daughter Merrie Margaret Inman (1984). He leaves a beloved wife Lilian Diana Carlisle and three children: Kerry of Houston, TX., Richard of Denver CO., and Andrew of Ridgefield, CT.; three grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Also surviving him are three stepdaughters, six step grandchildren, and a dear cousin in Ireland, Lana Faller. A celebration of Jim's life will be held at the First Congregational Church in Burlington, May 6th at 3:00 pm, with special music. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, donations will be gratefully accepted to the First Congregational Church, Choragic Music Fund, 38 So. Winooski Ave., Burlington, VT 05401 and the Visiting Nurse Association Hospice Program, 1110 Prim Road, Colchester, VT 05446. The family sends many thanks to the staff at Shelburne Bay for their care of Jim, and to his very special caregivers and nurses, for their love. We are grateful to Nancy Dinkel for her extraordinary friendship with Jim, and to Dr. Dennis Beatty for his skill, compassion and, most of all, for enjoying the personality and wit that was Jim Inman.Visit burlingtonfreepress.com/obituaries to Express condolences and sign the guest book.