OBITUARY James “Jimmy” LaCroix, 57

James Douglas “Jimmy” LaCroix, a 30year employee at Boston College, died on February 18. He was 57.

A funeral Mass was held for Mr. LaCroix on February 24 at St. Joseph’s Church, in Needham, Mass.

Mr. LaCroix was born with Down syndrome, but his parents, Arthur and Marjorie, rejected doctors’ recommendation for permanent institutional care and kept him at home in Needham along with their three other children. He learned to swim the width of an Olympic-size pool by age three and to row a small boat by age five.

Mr. LaCroix began his formal education in the Charles River Workshop, then entered the Needham Public Schools. He was a graduate of Needham High School and a member of the varsity swim team. After completing a two-year vocational technical program at Minuteman High School in Lexington, Mass., he was hired by Boston College as one of the first members of the University’s Supported Employment Program (SEP) and worked in a variety of jobs in Dining Services, Facilities, and Buildings and Grounds.

During his 30 years at BC, Mr. LaCroix lived in a specialized housing residence in Brookline, attending church regularly and traveling in and around Boston by public transportation and foot.

He retired from BC in 2017 and was feted at a farewell party on campus along with fellow SEP member Kevin Browne, who had started work at the University the same year as Mr. LaCroix. In an interview with Chronicle shortly after his retirement, Mr. LaCroix reminisced about his time at

BC, and said being there meant more than just a job: He liked the feeling of “working together as a team—everybody treated me well and helped me out.” He cited several members of the Corcoran Commons kitchen staff as among his favorite coworkers: “I liked listening to them and doing things together: teamwork.”

Mr. LaCroix was predeceased by his parents and brother Steven. He is survived by his sisters Jeannine Mara and Suzanne Vreeland, brothers-in-law John Mara and John Vreeland, and sister-in-law Kim LaCroix.

—University Communications widely used educational materials, said that his induction was a fitting tribute to a person who devoted his professional life to teaching and advancing the field of accounting.

“Pete benefited from many mentors, colleagues across the academy, former students, and the support and encouragement from family and friends,” she said. “I am sure he would share this honor with his colleagues at Boston College, knowing full well his individual success depended greatly on our collective success. This was his ‘Journey from Me to We,’ recognizing that we all contributed to making a difference.”

Jobs

The following are among the recent positions posted by the Department of Human Resources. For more information on employment opportunities at Boston College, see www.bc.edu/jobs or scan the QR code at right.

Staff Psychologist or Staff Clinician

Associate Director, Athletics Communications

Assistant Director, Reporting & Data

Analytics

Senior Events Specialist

Patrol Officer

Staff Nurse

Lead Wait Staff

Associate Director, First Year Experience

Video Production Specialist

Head Librarian, Social Work Library

Senior Network Systems Engineer

Program Administrator, McNair Scholars Program

Associate Director, Student Affairs Title

IX

Supervisor, Audio & Event Services

Transitions & Summer Operations Assistant

Wilson, who earned a doctorate in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon University in 1985, taught at Stanford University, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before his appointment at Boston College in July 1997.

During his illustrious teaching career, he earned many awards, including the Distinguished Teaching Award (Stanford Business School, 1988); Teacher of the Year Award (MIT Sloan School of Management, 1995); the AAA Outstanding Educator Award (2005); Teaching with New Media Award (Boston College, 2009, 2010); AICPA Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award (2010); AAA Lifetime Achievement in Accounting Education (2014); AAA Financial Accounting and Reporting Innovation in Accounting Education Award; and the prestigious J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook/Deloitte Foundation Prize for teaching excellence (2016).

Upon his death, John and Linda Powers Family Dean Andy Boynton praised Wilson for the unique and lasting contributions to the Carroll School of Management and Boston College.

“Pete was the very definition of a master teacher, but he was also a great and generous mentor of teachers at our school and in the accounting discipline,” said Boynton.

“While teaching was Pete’s signature craft, he also was a superb scholar. He exemplified careful thought and assessment of a wide variety of theoretical and empirical research. He was BC at its best.”

Principal Data Architect

Research Economist

Quality Assurance Lead

Public Safety Dispatcher

Senior Applications Architect/Engineer

Software Release Analyst

Alumni Relations Assistant

Research Program Manager

Dining Management Intern

Senior Research Associate, Connell School of Nursing

Post-doctoral Research Fellow (multiple positions)