In Memoriam
  Professor Emeritus James E. Hitchcock

Dr. James E. Hitchcock of Fairborn, Ohio, passed away Wednesday December 28, 2005 in his residence. He was born on October 19, 1932 in Detroit, Michigan, the son of the late George and Hazel Hitchcock, and was an Eagle Scout.

He earned the BSME degree in 1954 and the MSME in 1956, both from Wayne State University, and his PhD from Purdue University in 1962.  After graduation from Wayne State, he worked as a Research Engineer  at the General Motors Technical Center from 1955-1957.  During this period, he also taught part-time at Wayne State.  He was a full time Instructor at Purdue (1957 to 1961) while working on his doctorate.  In September of 1962 he joined the faculty in Mechanical Engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology in  He was promoted to Associate Professor in December 1964 and to Professor in November, 1970.  While teaching at AFIT, he was regularly identified by students as one of the most outstanding of instructors.  Upon retirement from teaching in 1989 he was awarded the title of Professor Emeritus.

In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a sister, Dorthy Fountaine of Detroit. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Charlotte; a daughter, Cindy Bauer of Fairborn; four sons, Mike of Brewster, NY, Bill of Windsor, CA, Rich of Boston, MA, John of Springfield; 13 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Jim will be dearly missed by all who knew him. Jim was a member of the Fairborn St. Luke United Methodist Church.

A gathering of family and friends was held on Saturday December 31, 2005 in the Belton-Stroup Funeral Home, Fairborn. Interment will be in the Elkland Township Cemetery in Cass City, Michigan at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that memorial contributions be made to Hospice of Dayton in memory of Jim. 

Contributions to Hospice of Dayton may be made by check, payable to the Hospice of Dayton Foundation and mailed to Hospice of Dayton, Inc. • 324 Wilmington Avenue • Dayton, Ohio 45420, or online at http://www.hospiceofdayton.org/

(Material published in the Dayton Daily News on 12/30/2005 has been incorporated.)

Note:  His son-in-law, Kenneth Bauer, is now a Professor in the Graduate School of Engineering and Management, AFIT.