Obituary of James A. Mason, Jr.

Webster: James A. Mason, Jr. passed away of natural causes at the age of 87 on November 9th. Jim is predeceased by his sons, Jimmy and Michael, and is survived by his loving wife of over 65 years, Mary, as well as their four other children Peg (Jim), Mary (Anthony), Dan (Sheila) and Kate. He is also survived by five grandchildren, Dante (Megan), Mary, Cam, Charlie, and Anna, as well as many loving and caring brother and sister in-laws; nieces and nephews.  

Jim was born in Belleville, IL on May 21, 1934 and was raised there as well. He met Mary, who was a native of nearby East Saint Louis, IL and the two were married on June 16, 1956. Jim is a proud alumni of the University of Notre Dame where he earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1956. Upon graduation between 1956 and 1964 Jim, Mary and their growing family spent time in Milwaukee, WI, Marion, IL and Lynn, MA while he worked as a design engineer and in manufacturing engineering in the jet engine business, armament development and the machine tool industry. In August of 1964 , Jim moved his still growing family to Webster where he embarked on a 31 year decorated career with Xerox Corporation. During his career at Xerox he had held several management positions in materials and process development, advanced manufacturing engineering, plant engineering, and components manufacturing before retiring in 1995. In 1966 , he also earned a graduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Penn State University. While at Xerox in 1972 he was issued a US Patent for one of Xerox’s new products.

His passion for engineering steered him to joining the American Society for Mechanical Engineers while as a student at Notre Dame where he served as the Treasurer and Chair of the student section as an associate member. This would be the start of a long and fruitful membership in ASME where he chaired numerous committees and conferences for the association over the years culminating with a position on the Executive Committee. He was the recipient of the ASME Centennial Award in 1980 and elected to Fellow in 1992. In addition to having a litany of his work published in a variety of engineering trade publications and books, Mason has made presentations on design and manufacturing productivity to internal company seminars at IBM and Carrier Corporations as well as to conferences at Lehigh University, Brigham Young University, and the University of Illinois among others. He was also a senior member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, and was elected to Alpha Pi Mu, Tau Beta Pi as well as being listed in Who’s Who of Engineering.

Jim was the consummate family man and a man of deep faith who spent countless hours attending his children and grandchildren’s extra-curricular activities. He spent over 20 years as a Red Wings season seatholder at Frontier Field and attended over 60 games a season no matter the weather. He was also a true man for others volunteering as a lectern and Eucharistic minister for many years at Holy Trinity in Webster. He also served as a volunteer and board member for the Notre Dame Club of Rochester and in 1989 he was presented the Notre Dame Award of the year in recognition of his professional achievement, spirited self-giving to community and the Notre Dame Club, and dedication to his Church, a Notre Dame man in those rich significances of morally responsible leadership. In 1973, through the Xerox Social Service Leave Program, Jim served as a volunteer on ASME staff as project manager in developing career guidance for minority and women junior high school students. And he served as a charter member of the steering committee that founded the ASME Minority Engineering Education Effort.

The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Cherry Ridge as well as Irene Jergensen, Mark Broussard and the rest of the Hospice Care team for taking such great care of him over the last 6 months and allowed him to stay at home as he wished.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Cherry Ridge Angels Fund, 900 Cherry Ridge Blvd, Webster, NY 14580 or  LifetimeCare & Hospice, 3111 Winton Road South, Rochester, NY 14623-2905.

There will be a Mass of Christian Burial 11:00 AM Saturday, November 13 at Holy Trinity Church, 1460 Ridge Rd., Webster, NY 14580. The family requests that all attendees please wear a mask inside the church. After the funeral there will be a private burial for the immediate family. A Celebration of Jim’s well lived life will be planned for the summer of 2022 for friends and family.

Livestreming for Jim's Mass of Christian Burial is available at www.holytrinityweb.com