James Alden Eldridge ’62

James Alden Eldridge ’62 of Denver died peacefully in his home on August 3, 2020, after a short illness, surrounded by his family. Jim was an outgoing and charismatic soul who led a full and adventurous entrepreneurial life. Born to Floyd and Josephine Eldridge in Evanston, Illinois, on January 8, 1940, Jim grew up in Palatine outside Chicago. Jim was an excellent three-sport athlete at Palatine High School. At Dartmouth he was a brother of Alpha Theta and a member of Palaeopitus, graduating with a degree in economics. Jim’s first wife, Brook, succumbed to cancer in 1968. Jim and son James II settled in Denver, where Jim began a successful career in commercial real estate, first with Van Schaack & Co. and later his own brokerage, Eldridge and Co. Realty. In 1977 he and his second wife, Susan, had son Jeffrey. In the late 1980s Jim departed Colorado for Florida, establishing real estate partnerships and developing luxury residential communities in Naples and elsewhere. He retired to Georgia before returning home to Denver. Jim’s life interests were wide-ranging, including art, scuba diving, hunting, coaching and cheering on his kids in soccer, and spending weekends at his hunting cabin in Grand Lake, Colorado. Jim leaves behind brother Tom; sons Jim and Jeff; niece Katie; nephew Jackson; grandchildren Mae, Auden, Emma, and Lily; former wife Susan; wife Charlie; and poodle Missy.