|
The following info about Jim Gregory was provided by Joseph French:
Jim and I were friends in High School. He was always coming up with crazy ideas for spending our evenings. One example was trying to see how many different pools we could swim in one night without getting caught. I lost touch with Jim after High School, but got reacquainted in the early 70's. He had started a wireless phone company which caused him to travel a lot. He was one of the first people to call me on a car phone. Jim and a mutual friend went to Negril Beach Jamaica on vacation in 1980 and disappeared. The Coast Guard and FBI looked into their disappearance. There was speculation that they might have taken a small catamaran from the hotel and sailed over the reef. Negril Beach is protected by a large reef and the water can be quite rough on the other side of the reef. I will always have great memories of Jim, as we had many fun times together.
|
Mike Mimnaugh
Jim moved to New Canaan in the late 50's and immediately joined a fast crowd of mischief makers at the South School which included Jay Stanley, Grady Wells, Paul Hershberg, Torbert Curtain and me. Jimmy and I remained close through freshman year of college after which he departed to serve two years in the Army. At this point in time most draftees were shipping off to Vietnam, but not Jim...he drew a tour in Hawaii.
We lost touch with each other during the 70's but managed to reconnect in the early 80's while my wife and I were residing in White Plains, NY. Jim would visit us frequently and on each occasion introduce to us another of his money making schemes. The notice of his passing came as a shock to us and the circumstances surrounding his death were never revealed in a clear manner.
I recall with delight an incident during senior year driving with Jim in his mother's 1959 Plymouth station wagon from Westport to New Canaan - - returning late from the Ice Cream Parlor which at that time served as a teenage night spot. We were traveling south on the Merritt Parkway along the stretch in Norwalk where one is likely to exceed the posted speed limit. Jim proceeded to get the beast up to 90 MPH where upon the needle remained stuck. In spite of our best attempts to reset the speedometer we failed to remove the evidence and Jim was forced to face his parents the following morning. His explanation though colorful did not carry the day, and as punishment he served a period of house arrest on Frogtown Road.
Thank you Jimmy for putting smiles on so many faces.