James T. Larkin, of Greenwich died on November 22 at the age of 91, of leukemia.
Born in Quincy, MA on September 6, 1931, to Dr. Richard J. Larkin, DDS and Alice Murphy Larkin, Jim was a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross (’53) and Wharton Business School (’58), which he attended on the G.I. Bill.
He joined the Marine Corps in 1953 and became a company commander at 22 serving in Korea. After serving two tours of active duty and volunteer reserve service, he was honorably discharged as a Captain in 1965.
Jim’s professional career spanned 40 years in the media and financial services industries. He began his career at the American Broadcasting Company in 1958 and was one of the founding executives developing and expanding investments in 21 countries in Asia and Latin America.
In 1970 he joined American Express as a Vice President. Over the course of his 23-year tenure with American Express he held a series of senior roles in sales, marketing, payments and travel related services, and was instrumental in the rapid international growth of American Express Travelers Cheques. He traveled to nearly every market in which American Express was active and managed many of their most senior and critical relationships, eventually becoming Vice Chairman of American Express International. He retired in 1993.
Throughout his life, Jim was involved in many civic, not-for-profit and ecumenical works. He was founding Executive Committee member of Cooperation Ireland, which supported cultural exchange between youth from Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic to promote peace and understanding. He served on the board of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra; was a Trustee and Treasurer of the New England Genealogical Society; a Trustee of the Quincy Historical Society and a Trustee and Treasurer for the Naval War College Foundation, where he endowed a permanent award for academic excellence by a Marine Corps officer. From 2004 – 2009, Jim served as the Chairman of the Investment Advisory Council for the State of Connecticut.
Devoted to ecumenical affairs, he was a contributor to the International Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic Church and served as an Ecumenical Patriarchate delegate to the Peace Conference on Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1994.
His awards for public service include: the Cross of St. Andrew, awarded to a Catholic by the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch; Citation from the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut; the Meritorious Service Medal from the Naval War College Foundation; and the Fenwick Award as a Life Benefactor from the College of the Holy Cross.
He was a member of the Wardroom Club in Boston, the Greenwich Republican Roundtable, The Harpoon Club, the Metropolitan Club of New York, the Indian Harbor Yacht Club and a Life Member of the 1st and 3rd Marine Division Associations, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Military Officers Association of America.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 54 years, Susan Gardiner Larkin; his children Kate Larkin Laverge (Albert) of Riverside, CT, and grandchildren, Allie and Charlie; and James Larkin, Jr (Cecilia) of Santa Fe, NM and grandchildren, Carmen, Raphael, Madeline, Penelope, and William; brother David J. Larkin (Robin) of Edina, MN; sister Mary Jane Larkin of Quincy, MA; as well as many dear nieces and nephews. Jim was predeceased by his siblings, Richard J. Larkin, John P. Larkin, Michael Larkin, Alice Wedd Larkin, and Nancy Dowling Larkin.
A visitation will be held at Knapp Funeral Home (267 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT) on Tuesday, November 29 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. A Mass to celebrate Jim’s life will be offered at St. Mary Church (178 Greenwich Avenue, Greenwich, CT) on Wednesday, November 30 at 10:00 a.m. Burial with military honors will follow at St. Mary’s Putnam Cemetery (35 Parsonage Road, Greenwich, CT). The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, charitable donations may be made to Kids in Crisis.
