We are saddened to report the passing of James N. Trexler, a classmate of John Updike’s who was part of a panel at the very first John Updike Society conference at Alvernia University in Reading, Pa. Trexler died of AML at age 93, and his obituary made a single reference to Updike:

“[Trexler] often joked that he ‘majored in swim team, wood shop, and typing’—a fitting description for the man his classmate John Updike once referred to as the ‘class clown’.”

Jim graduated from Shillington H.S. in 1950 and from Albright College in 1958, serving a stint in the U.S. Air Force in between. A people person with a sharp wit, Jim “worked as a sales manager for Columbia Cutlery while coordinating logistics with Ennis Manufacturing. After ‘retiring’ in 1993, he served as the Terminal and Operations Manager for Landis Transportation and concluded his career at Mark Metals, where he worked until age 82.”

The obituary added that Jim was known for his “incredible wit, generosity, integrity, and genuine interest in hours,” and Updike Society members experienced that first-hand in 2010 when he not only participated in the panel but hung around to talk with conference attendees. Pictured below is that panel, with Jim on the right, next to fellow H.S. classmates Harlan Boyer, Jackie Herneisen Kendall, Joan V. Youngerman, and moderator Jack De Bellis. We were privileged to learn from him and enjoy his company. Our condolences to his wife, Evelyn, daughter Joellen Trexler Nelson, son Andy, and other family members.