ROCKPORT - James J. Algrant, 91, passed away unexpectedly July 21, 2018, at Penobscot Bay Medical Center. 

Jim was born in New York City to Victor Algrant and Ines Canete, and was raised tri-lingual, with fluency in English, Spanish and French.  He attended prestigious secondary schools in NYC and in England and developed a sophisticated international awareness that was an integral part of his life. 

After completing his final high school years, he joined the U.S. Merchant Marine where he became a radio operator and served until his honorable discharge in August 1945.  After his discharge, Jim chose to continue working for his country by putting off college to join the Central Intelligence Agency and enjoyed assignments all over the world including Paris, Washington, D.C., Miami, Copenhagen and Tangier, Morocco, where he met and married his wife, Patricia.   She recently predeceased him after 59 years of marriage.  

Jim had a lifelong interest in heraldry and heraldic arms, and he became a self-taught historian on the subject.  In 1987, Jim authored a piece in English entitled, Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem - An up-date to the History of the Order 1983 to 1987.  Then in 1992, he wrote and published in French, English and Spanish, Armorial de l'Ordre Militaire et Hospitalier de Saint Lazarus de Jerusalem.   

Throughout his lifetime, Jim enjoyed memberships in the Travellers Club (Paris), the Army & Navy Club (Washington, D.C.) and the Royal Malta Yacht Club.  In 1994, he and Patt moved to Rockport, Maine, and Jim became an active member of the Mid-Coast Forum on Foreign Relations, joining its board in 2000.  Through his impressive international and national contacts, he was responsible for locating over one-half of the Mid-Coast Forum’s prestigious speakers.

A memorial service will take place at 2 p.m., Friday, September 28 at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 11 White Street, Rockland. Those who wish to remember Jim in a special way may make contributions to a charity of your choice.  To share a story or memory of Jim, please visit his online Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.