James B. Wilson, 85, vice admiral

James B. Wilson, 85, a retired Navy vice admiral and Naval Academy official, died of pneumonia Monday, Jan. 24, at Kendal Crosslands, a retirement community in Pennsbury Township.

Mr. Wilson graduated from Radnor High School. He was a member of Boy Scout Troop 1 in Paoli and became an Eagle Scout. After attending Duke University for a year, he received an appointment to the Naval Academy.

In his senior year, he commanded 24 Company, which was presented a flag after winning a midshipmen competition for efficiency. The color girl who made the presentation was Mr. Wilson's former high school sweetheart and fiancee, Dorothy Ann Hargrove. The couple married in June 1946 after he graduated from the academy.

Mr. Wilson spent his first two years as a naval officer aboard destroyers. Then, after graduating first in his class in 1948 from submarine school in New London, Conn., he spent more than 20 years in the submarine service.

In 1959, he commanded the submarine Dogfish. He later was executive officer of the Ethan Allen and commanded the Andrew Jackson, both nuclear-powered ballistic-missile submarines.

Promoted to captain in 1967, Mr. Wilson served ashore in administrative positions and at sea, including commanding a submarine squadron and support ships at Pearl Harbor.

From 1971 to 1973, as a rear admiral, he served in Vietnam and was in charge of the withdrawal of naval operations. The assignment earned him a Distinguished Service Medal.

After a year in the Office of the Secretary of the Navy in Washington, Mr. Wilson was promoted to vice admiral in 1974. For the next four years, he was chief of naval education, including supervising the Naval Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, and the Naval War College, and earned a second Distinguished Service Medal for his performance. During his career, he received numerous other decorations and medals.

After he retired from the Navy in 1978, Mr. Wilson and his wife lived on a farm in Maryland, where he was active with Boy Scout organizations and the Maryland Environmental Trust.

Since the mid-1990s, the couple had lived at Kendal Crosslands, where Mr. Wilson helped establish a mentoring program, pairing retirees with schoolchildren. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church of West Chester.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Wilson is survived by sons George and Matthew; a daughter, Susan Fowler; nine grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Another son, Henry, died in 1983.

A life celebration will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 26, at Kendal Crosslands, 1660 E. Street Rd., Pennsbury.

Memorial donations may be made to the Crosslands Health Center Fund, Box 100, Kennett Square, Pa. 19348.