James “Jim” Chandler Paton

Paton—James “Jim” Chandler Paton, 88, on January 18, 2025, peacefully in his sleep, in Hayward, Calif. Jim was born on October 5, 1936, to Russell and Linda Paton in Jenkintown, Pa. Jim attended Jenkintown High School before enrolling at Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., where his passion for global affairs and social justice began. He studied at an Earlham program in France, where he became fluent in French. After returning to Earlham’s campus in 1956, he met Rev. James Robinson, founder of Operation Crossroads Africa. Recognizing Jim’s enthusiasm for international work and his language skills, Rev. Robinson encouraged Jim to apply for a volunteer role. The following summer, Jim traveled to Cameroon, where he helped to build schools—his first real taste of development work in Africa, a calling that would guide his professional life.

Jim graduated from Earlham in 1958, and soon after married fellow Earlhamite Marjorie Pickett (class of 1959) under the care of Lynn (Ind.) Meeting. He went on to earn a master’s degree in political science from Indiana University before taking his first professional role with American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia. Jim and Marjorie welcomed two sons, Scott in 1960 and Richard in 1962.

In the early 1960s, Jim returned to Africa with his family, accepting a position with Church World Service in the newly independent Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), administering a Food for Peace program. The family moved to Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) in 1962, launching more than a decade of international work that took them from Congo to Algeria (1965–68), India (1968–71), and Greece (1971–73). In 1968, they welcomed their third son, Robert.

The Patons returned to the United States in the early 1970s, living first in Logan, Utah, where they attended Logan Meeting, and later outside New York City. Jim’s commitment to humanitarian work led him back overseas. Throughout the 1980s, he worked with several international organizations, including AMREF (the East African Flying Doctor Service) and UNICEF, in South Sudan, Somalia, and Uganda, helping to bring aid and health services to some of the world’s most vulnerable populations.

During the 1980s, following his divorce from Marjorie, Jim came out as gay—a decision he embraced with courage and pride. He spent the last decades of his life based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he built a life rooted in family, community, and advocacy. He volunteered for several years at the Pacific Center for Human Growth in Berkeley, Calif., supporting LGBTQ+ individuals with compassion and solidarity.

Jim was an avid philatelist whose love of postage stamp collecting began as a boy. Over the years he built an impressive collection, with many gathered during his global travels. A lover of classical music and opera, a voracious reader and writer, and a formidable chess and bridge player, Jim was endlessly curious.

Not the least of Jim’s legacy is the cascading influence and inspiration his global life of service has left with his extended family and those around him. Jim was instrumental in helping the Deria family from Somalia resettle in the United States and two Ethiopian refugees—Adem Omar and Ali Osman—emigrate to and secure citizenship in Canada and the United Kingdom, respectively. Jim considered both Adem and Ali his adopted sons.

Jim is survived by his ex-wife, Marjorie Xavier; two children, Scott Paton and Richard Paton; two adopted sons, Adem Omar and Ali Osman; and five grandchildren. His third biological son, River (born Robert) followed him in death by just a few days after a long illness. Jim’s longtime dear friend Clinton Nix was a tireless caring helper during Jim’s last years.