James G. Abert, 86

April 01, 2019

James G. Abert, 86, a resident of Willow Valley Communities, died on April 1, 2019. He is survived by his wife Carole Althouse Abert, also a resident of Willow Valley Communities.

Jim was born in Chambersburg, PA and grew up in Lancaster. He was the son of Harry and Gertrude (Goodear) Abert and graduated from Manheim Township High School in 1950. His wife, Carole, was in the same class. He was awarded a NROTC scholarship to the University of South Carolina and graduated Cum Laude, with a BS in Mechanical Engineering.

Upon graduation, he was commissioned in the Navy as an Ensign. He served in the Navy on an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, a destroyer and various submarines. After discharge from active duty, Jim continued his naval service as a reservist and rose to the rank of Captain. He served at the commander of the Washington, DC Naval Reserve unit and retired from the Navy in 1989.

Jim earned a Master’s Degree in Economics from The Hague University, in the Netherlands, and a PhD in Economics from Duke University. His dissertation, written while living in the Netherlands, was on the use of econometric models to guide Dutch economic policy and was published by Yale University Press.

He and his family then moved to Washington D.C. in 1963. There Jim worked at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare and various “think tanks’ and consulting organizations concerned with improving the efficiency of government programs related to defense, poverty alleviation, education and recycling. Jim was the Vice-President and CEO of the National Center for Resource Recovery, a private organization involved with recycling waste. Later he was the Economist for the National Soft Drink Association.
Jim later joined Georgetown University where he taught marketing, international business, and environmental management. He authored several books and over forty articles in various publications. While at Georgetown he won a Fulbright Fellowship to research recycling in Japan, where he was affiliated with the Japan Environmental Agency and the University of Tokyo. After Jim retired from Georgetown, he was awarded an academic year Fulbright to the Environmental Institute at University College Dublin, Ireland.

Jim and Carole returned and retired to Lancaster in 2002. In retirement, Jim kept busy in Lancaster as a member of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), The Workforce Investment Board, the Lancaster County Planning Commission, PIRATES, a 110-year-old business man’s club, and the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC. In 2007 Jim was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of Manheim Township High School.

In addition to his wife, Jim is survived by his four children and nine grandchildren: Steven (Catherine and James), Janice (Anna and Matthew), Susan (Caroline, Elizabeth, and Julia), and Michael (Shrey, and Tejas).

Friends will be received on Saturday, June 1, 2019 from 1-2PM at the Charles F. Snyder Jr. Funeral Home & Crematory, 3110 Lititz Pike, Lititz, PA, with the Memorial Service to follow at 2PM. Interment will follow in Conestoga Memorial Park. A reception will follow with more details to follow. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Jim’s memory to the Mennonite Central Committee at https://donate.mcc.org/registry/memory-james-abert.