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RICH JAMES H. A pioneer investor in radio, cable television, and private equity, a contemporary art collector, philanthropist, and World War II veteran died on Saturday, December 8, 2018 at home in Pittsburgh, at age 96. Loving husband for 64 years of the late Idamae Brody Rich and adored by his children and grandchildren, Jim was known to many as a brilliant investor with an intuitive sense of the future. He was a kind, generous man who exempli?ed a spirit of fairness and cared deeply for his family and his community. Until the last years of his life, Jim did not speak of the Air Medal he was awarded by the Allied Air Forces, nor of his harrowing experiences from '44-'45 as a radio operator on converted DC-3 passenger planes in the Southwest Paci?c. Prior to enlisting, he had wanted to become a professional pilot, and had learned to operate DC-3 instruments as a student at Boeing School of Aeronautics in Oakland, CA. A graduate of Taylor Allderdice High School, Jim attended Duquesne University while working evenings as overseer of attorneys who were paid by the WPA White Collar Project. The $100 a month job enabled him to get his studies done, and to purchase a Chevrolet for $750. In his ?rst post-war career, as a printing broker, Jim negotiated for Pickwick Press to secure the contract for the local programming insert for TV Guide. When Pickwick Press started to fail, Jim studied a book on how to bid a printing job, purchased Pickwick for $1,000, assumed its debts, and re-negotiated a contract with TV Guide. He was successful enough to acquire another press and merge it with the ?rst, but changes a?oat caused the loss of the TV Guide job, and the end of Pickwick-Morwick. A father of two young children without income in his future, Jim decided to apply for a job as a car salesman. He sat outside a dealership in his Chevrolet, unable to swallow his pride and walk in the front door. Ingenuity and determination went into high gear. Jim went on to invest in as many as forty businesses country-wide throughout his life, including WAMO AM/FM in Pittsburgh; radio stations in Buffalo, Boston, Miami and Chicago; cable television in Ohio; background music; equipment leasing; the chain Athlete's Foot (with the late Robert Lando); and the production of clean room hospital supplies. Along the way, Jim renewed his pilot license and purchased a Cessna Skymaster, ?ying it for business and pleasure, or at every opportunity he could invent. Jim and Idamae enjoyed traveling throughout the world, and shared an interest in contemporary art, which they collected at auctions in New York and London. They enjoyed a strong bond, and travelled to art fairs and galleries with Richard Armstrong during his tenure as Director of the Carnegie Museum of Art. Now Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Mr. Armstrong wrote to their daughter Katy: An elegant and devoted couple, Jim and Idamae Rich were adventurous and discerning collectors of contemporary art. They were as well generous and long-time allies of Carnegie Museums of Art, and great partisans for the arts in Pittsburgh. Jim was an Honorary Member of the Carnegie Museum of Art Board, and he and Idamae were members of the Carnegie Noble Quartet Society. Jim's charity extended to many other arenas, with a keen interest in early education for children with special needs and in underprivileged areas. He was a member of The Pittsburgh Golf Club and Duquesne Club, and a former homeowner at Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, Florida. Jim Rich is survived by his loving companion of nearly eight years, Marcia Weiss; and by daughter, Kathryn Sherman (Frederick); daughter-in-law, Abigail Rich; grandchildren, Nicholas Rich (Cara), Katherine Rich, Elizabeth Delman (Scott), Madeline Whitehill, Alexis Sherman-Roe (Ally), and Nathaniel Sherman (Ellie); and by great-grandchildren, Hunter Rich, Lucas Rich, Crosby Rich, and Ella Scott Sherman; he was preceded in death by his wife, Idamae; his son, James H. Rich, Jr.; and his brother, Robert K. Rich. Services at Rodef Shalom Temple, 4905 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 on Tuesday at 12 p.m. Interment West View Cemetery of Rodef Shalom Congregation. For those who wish, donations in memory of James Rich may be made to Children's Home of Pittsburgh, 5324 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. childrenshomepgh.org /donate-now. Arrangements entrusted to RALPH SCHUGAR CHAPEL, INC. www.schugar.com Send condolences post-gazette.com/gb
