James K. Ready

James K. Ready, age 85, passed away on March 5, 2017 in Sun City Center, Florida. He was born in Albany, NY, the son of the late James C. and Ellen (Kellogg) Ready. As an infant he moved with his parents, who were native Vermonters, to Rutland, Vt. He graduated from Christ the King Elementary School and Mount St. Joseph Academy in Rutland, and earned his B.A. degree from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. Following completion of his master's degree at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, James served in the U.S. Navy as an associate editor of The Naval Aviation News, stationed at the Pentagon. When the National Aeronautics and Space Administration was organized in Washington in 1958, he was recruited to serve in the public information office and was responsible for overseeing the dissemination of news and publicity for a variety of satellite and missile launches including the TIROS and ECHO weather and communications projects. James spent the next several years at Aerospace Corp., El Segundo, CA. where he served as director of news and special projects. From 1970 until his retirement in 1993, he headed the Public Information Office at the University of the Virgin Islands, headquartered in St. Thomas. James is survived by his brother, Michael J. and his wife Geraldine and close friends, Elaine Carbonneau and Ann Killian Torpey. A memorial service will be 3:00p.m. Wednesday, March 22, 2017 at Sun City Funeral Home, 1851 Rickenbacker Drive, Sun City Center, Florida. A Memorial Mass and interment will be in Island Pond, Vermont at a later date. It would be appreciated that in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.