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Greetings INCOSE WMA Members!
On the low side of this holiday season, I was informed by David Long that his father Jim passed away.
After skyrocketing blood pressure alerted doctors to the presence of blockages near the heart, Jim
underwent quadruple bypass surgery in early July. Though the surgery went well, it triggered a
cascading series of health problems– infections, kidney issues, and respiratory difficulties. While Jim’s
heart was strong and he progressed several times, the cumulative impact ultimately proved to be too
much. Jim passed away peacefully on Sunday December 12 surrounded by his family.
I met Jim back in the early 90s when I was working at SAIC and he was a sales engineer supporting
Ascent Logic Corporation. He sold us on the RDD-100 tool. We insisted that he provide the training, as
it was clear he understood the concepts behind the tool better than your average sales engineer. In
fact, Jim has been a major player in development of the model-based system engineer approach back
in the late 60s when he worked at TRW.
Jim supported his son, David, in a new start: Vitech Corporation, which developed and sells the CORE
system engineering tool. David and Jim asked me to write their first user’s manual, which I did. We had
a long and productive relationship for over 18 years and I considered Jim a mentor and friend. He will
be missed by all who knew him.
Jim was laid to rest in his birthplace and family hometown of Hoopeston, Illinois. In lieu of flowers,
Jim’s family asked that those so moved make a contribution to your favorite charity during the holiday
season.
Since Jim helped found the WMA Chapter, we thought it would be appropriate to rename the recently
established fund with the INCOSE Foundation. The WMA Board of Directors voted to rename the fund
the “WMA/James E. Long Memorial Fund.” So if you want to contribute to a fund in Jim’s name
specifically, please do so. That way his name will carry on the tradition of system engineering Jim
pioneered.
Sincerely,
Steven H. Dam