James Francis Marx, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, respected leader in banking and finance, cherished volunteer and board member at the Pace Center for Girls, avid golfer, fervent Boston Red Sox fan, man of deep faith, and dedicated parishioner at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic church in Ponte Vedra Beach, died on July 7. He was 92.

Marx began his career in banking in 1957 with The First National City Bank of New York (now Citibank) in Manhattan, New York, where he rose to become Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for various divisions including the Oil and Gas and Real Estate Industries, the latter included relationships with hundreds of the leading national and New York-based developers of commercial real estate. In the late 1970’s, Marx directed Citicorp’s Community Development department which focused on the bank’s investments to support urban revitalization, affordable housing, and neighborhood economic development in the five New York City boroughs.

From 1964-1966 Marx served as Manager of the Oil and Gas Division for the Mercantile Bank of Canada (a Citibank Affiliate) in Calgary, Alberta, where he moved his family and where his son, Raymond, was born. Marx’s time in Canada included managing a lending portfolio to the burgeoning Canadian gas and oil industry; experiencing memorable family vacations to the Calgary Stampede and beautiful Banff and Jasper National Parks; and developing an affinity for Canadian professional hockey.

In 1982, Marx joined the Bank of New York where he led the Oil, Gas and Extractive Industry Division as Senior Vice President. He was known and respected throughout his career for his leadership qualities, equanimity, and ability to successfully assess people’s genuineness. Marx’s work in banking took him to the Far East, Africa, and South America as well as Canada and throughout the United States.

His professional accomplishments were many, however, what shined through in Marx’s life were his love of family, his deep Catholic faith, his passion for golf and baseball, and his desire to serve others, evidenced by the countless hours he spent tutoring and mentoring at-risk teenage girls at the Pace Center for Girls, Jacksonville. Marx loved to tell personal stories about the girls he tutored in math, and more importantly, his joy in seeing the teens flourish in their educational, professional, and life pursuits. When he was honored as a “local hero” for his volunteer work at Pace Jacksonville, where he was affectionately known as “Mr. Jim,” Marx said, “The credit doesn’t belong to me, the credit belongs to the girls.” In addition to volunteering as a tutor and mentor, Marx served on the Pace Jacksonville and statewide boards of directors chairing the finance committees for both. He and his wife Joanne were lifelong friends of the organization.

His Catholic faith was of utmost importance to Marx, and he tried always to live and practice his faith in daily life. He attended Mass each week at Our Lady Star of the Sea, where he served as a lector and eucharistic minister for Sunday and weekday Masses; he also chaired the church’s finance committee. Marx served on the Diocese of St. Augustine’s Catholic Foundation board of directors, including as its chair from 2012-14. Marx expanded his ministry into his community by bringing Holy Communion to the sick and homebound in the Ponte Vedra Beach community including at Vicar’s Landing, where he and his wife Joanne lived beginning in 2016, and to patients at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Through this gift of service and faith, he formed deep bonds and lasting friendships with many of those he served, and he always took the time to listen and learn about their families and the details of their lives.

When not working, worshiping, or volunteering, Marx could often be found at his home away from home—the golf course. He learned to play golf in the U.S. Army where he served from 1955-57 earning the rank of first lieutenant while assigned to the Nike missile base in Eureka, Pennsylvania. Marx enjoyed golf in multiple ways over his lifetime including rating golf courses across the Southeastern U.S and walking alongside professionals as a scorekeeper during The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. Marx played many notable golf courses around the world and was a member of TPC Sawgrass, the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, and Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, New York. One of his proudest moments as a golfer was sinking a hole-in-one on the 13th hole at TPC Sawgrass.

Marx was born in 1933 at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. to parents Raymond and Gladys Marx. He grew up in the Shepherd Park area of Washington, D.C. where he and his friends played baseball daily on the field at the Shepherd Elementary School across the street from his childhood home. Marx, who became passionate about the Boston Red Sox at an early age, idolized the gritty and consistent Red Sox second baseman Bobby Doerr rather than their superstar Ted Williams—demonstrating his respect for those who showed up every day and did their job well, an attribute Marx would adopt and display throughout his life. One of the great joys of Marx’s life was being celebrated in honor of his 80th birthday by his wife, his four children and their spouses, and seven grandchildren at Fenway Park in Boston, which included a private stadium tour and the opportunity to meet players including David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia during on-field batting practice.

Marx attended St. John’s College High School in Washington, D.C., where he was editor of the school newspaper. After his time in the Army, he enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he majored in philosophy and economics and joined the ROTC program; he graduated with a BS in 1955. Marx was a lifelong learner and in 1977 completed Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Advanced Management Program, one of the world’s most prestigious executive education programs. He also completed graduate studies in business at New York University.

The joys in spending time with family were cherished by Marx. He was called both “Papa Jim” and “Pop-Pop,” earning not one but two grandfatherly names from his seven grandchildren. Family gatherings at the Marx home in Ponte Vedra Beach were filled with laughter and love along with some serious games of chess and backgammon, the latter game often dominated by Papa Jim!

Marx is survived by his beloved wife of 68 years, Joanne Marx of Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida; his son Joe and his wife Eileen of Lawrenceville, New Jersey; his daughter Mary and her husband Mike Fitch of St. John’s, Florida; his son Raymond and his wife Leonor Zambrano of Quito, Ecuador; and his son Jim and his wife Leslie of Ossining, New York. He is also survived by his loving grandchildren: Bobby, Teresa, Rowan, Nolan, Katie, Jordan, and Natalie. The Marx family is especially grateful to Baylus Sizemore for the kindness, companionship, and loving care he provided to Mr. Jim.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of James Francis Marx may be made to Pace Center for Girls Jacksonville 2933 University Blvd N. Jacksonville, FL 32211 or to support melanoma research at Penn Medicine. Checks should be made payable to ‘Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania’ and indicate in memory of James F. Marx on the check memo line or on a note with gift. Please mail checks to: Penn Medicine Development, 3535 Market Street, Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA, 19104. Donations can also be made directly online here: https://giving.apps.upenn.edu/fund?program=MED&fund=602631

Details about services will be posted at a later date.