James E. Delaney, Jr., passed away peacefully at home from cancer on Tuesday, April 26, 2016. He was able to spend his last few months surrounded by his wife Dorothy, eight children, 14 grandchildren, and great-grandson.
Jim was born in Newton, Massachusetts on May 26, 1930 to James and Irene Delaney where he grew up with sister Jean Collins and brothers David Delaney and Gerald Delaney. He graduated second in his class in economics from Boston College. During college he was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency and immediately assigned to serve in the Army as a CIA paramilitary officer during the Korean War. Jim continued working for the CIA in Washington, D.C., where he attended Japanese language school, completed his law degree from Georgetown University, and passed the Virginia bar. Over the next quarter of a century he was assigned to Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, and Korea. He served as the Can Tho CIA Base Station Chief during the very end of the Vietnam War and as CIA Station Chief in his last two posts in Korea and Japan. Between these tours, Jim also graduated from the National War College in Washington, D.C.
Jim was a central figure in U.S. intelligence and policy in East and Southeast Asia for over 60 years. Following his retirement from the CIA, Jim continued to devote his life to building strong security ties between the U.S. and its allies as a Senior Fellow at the Institute for National Strategic Studies at the National Defense University and as a consultant for the Institute for Defense Analyses. His skills as an area expert and facilitator combined with key relationships were used to affect timely interventions. Jim received numerous professional awards, including the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal, the CIA’s decoration “for performance of outstanding services for achievement of a distinctly exceptional nature in a duty or responsibility”.
Jim understood the international appreciation of sports and his participation as an accomplished tennis player and golfer often served as the foundation of many lifelong professional and personal relationships in host countries and across the intelligence communities of the U.S. and its allies. He instilled this passion for athletics in his children and grandchildren, many of whom have excelled as student-athletes.
Jim’s many friends have been blessed by his friendship and inspiration, but his real legacy is his family including his 64-year marriage with Dorothy; children Jim (Lisa) Delaney, Pat Delaney, Tim Delaney, Chris (Devon) Delaney, Maureen Delaney, Kathleen (Gordon) Kingma, Jean Gibbs, and Ann (Jim) Risler; grandchildren Kate Delaney, James Delaney IV, Chris Delaney Jr., Patrick Delaney, Jesse Delaney, Greg Korniloff, Alex Korniloff, Irene Delaney, Kelly (Christopher) Kittle, Jake Kingma, Kasey Kingma, Allison Bozek (Will), Megan Gibbs, and David Gibbs; and great grandchild Liam Gibbs.
Services will be held on May 17, 2016 at St. Agnes Catholic Church on 1910 N Randolph St., Arlington, VA 22207 at 10:30 a.m., followed by a reception at 11:30 a.m.