James H. Ayres, 86, a retired Navy commander who specialized in communications and intelligence work, died Oct. 26 at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington. He had pneumonia.
His death was confirmed by his daughter, Jacelyn A. Swenson.
Cmdr. Ayres served in the Navy in the Pacific during World War II. After completing his college education, he rejoined the Navy in 1952 and served until 1969. His final active-duty assignment was at the Pentagon working for the Defense Intelligence Agency.
After a stint at the Office of Management and Budget, he worked for 20 years as a consultant for defense contractors, including VSE Corp.
Cmdr. Ayres, a McLean resident, owned two sailboat manufacturing companies in the 1970s, Hapco Marine and Ayres and Co. He was a past commodore of the National Potomac Yacht Club and the Potomac River Sailing Association.
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James Howard Ayres was a Houston native and a 1950 graduate of the University of Houston. He also received a master’s degree in business and industrial psychology from the school in 1951.
Share this articleShareHe held leadership positions in the Boy Scouts of America in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a past vice president of the Hawaii State Society in Washington. Other memberships included Sons of the American Revolution.
His wife of 50 years, Eloise Adams “Ellie” Ayres, died in 2002. Their daughter Ann died soon after her birth in 1958.
Survivors include three children, James H. Ayres II of San Anselmo, Calif., Jared W. “Jerry” Ayres of Stafford, Va., and Jacelyn A. Swenson of Falls Church; a brother; and four grandchildren.
— Adam Bernstein
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