James Waterbury

    James Montaudevert Waterbury, formerly of East Hampton, died at his house in Stamford, Conn., on Feb. 8 of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 85 and had been ill a long time.

    Mr. Waterbury, who was known to friends and family as Monty, was born in Los Angeles on Aug. 8, 1927, to Cleveland Livingston Waterbury and the former Frances Riddle. He grew up on the East Coast.

    After graduating from St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire, he served in the United States Marine Corps. He later graduated from Yale University, in 1950.

    Mr. Waterbury spent the bulk of his professional life working in the securities industry at the former National Securities and Research Corporation, a New York mutual fund company founded by Henry J. Simonson, his father-in-law. He also worked at the former Hambrecht and Quist, an investment bank in San Francisco.

    Later in his career, he founded Golf Search, an executive recruiting firm. It allowed him to work in the same industry as his beloved hobby and lifelong passion. His love of golf led him to serve as a governor of the Maidstone Club in East Hampton and the National Golf Links in Southampton. 

    Mr. Waterbury spent time on the South Fork throughout his life, first as a boy in Southampton, and for more than 20 years at his house on Egypt Lane here. Described by his family as a “man of sport and surf,” he loved the ocean and taught all of his children and grandchildren to love it as well.

    He is survived by Kay Simonson, his wife of 56 years, and their five children, Jim Waterbury of Greenwich, Conn., Hope Waterbury of New York, Christine Waterbury of New York, Carol Quinlan of Annapolis, Md., and Sue Waterbury-Rose of New York and East Hampton. Five grandchildren survive as well, as does a sister, Cynthia Cole of Maine.

    A funeral Mass was said on Feb. 12 at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan, where the Waterburys were married nearly 57 years ago. The family has suggested memorial donations for the Connecticut chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association: 2075 Silas Deane Highway, Suite 100, Rocky Hill, Conn. 06067.