James Burr Jenks

On February 7th, 2024, James Burr Jenks passed away peacefully at his residence in Catonsville, MD, with his family close by. He leaves behind four children, four grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and a large extended family. Elaine LoJacono Jenks, his beloved wife of 61 years, predeceased him in 2022.

James was born on December 24th, 1927 to Gladys Graves Jenks (later Madigan) and Kenneth Fleming Jenks of Washington, DC. For his early education, he attended public and parochial schools in Washington. During his high school years, he attended St. Charles Catholic Seminary in Catonsville, MD in preparation for the Catholic priesthood. However, he chose not to pursue the priesthood on graduation.

He served in the US Army Air Corps/US Air Force 1946-1949. He was trained as a radar repairman.

After leaving the service, he worked as a TV antenna installer and as a punchcard equipment operator for the US government. In 1960, he started working as a computer programmer for the General Services Administration in the US government, and then moved over to the US Customs Service in 1965. He remained a computer programmer with Customs until his retirement from the government in 1983.

James married Elaine LoJacono of Washington, DC in 1961, and the couple started a family which grew to include four children. In 1975, Jim and Elaine Jenks and family moved into the newly built house in Accokeek, MD that would serve as the home to multiple generations of the family until 2011.

During the 1990s and 2000s, Elaine and Jim lived in Ormond Beach, FL in order to help care for Elaine's mother Florence. The couple moved back to Accokeek after Florence's passing in 2006.

In 2011, Jim and Elaine moved to the Charlestown retirement community in Catonsville, MD. The Charlestown facility includes some buildings that were originally part of the St. Charles Seminary, and James enjoyed that aspect of his new home.

Funeral services for James will be held on Friday, May 17, 2024 at 11:15am at the Cheltenham Veterans Cemetery, 11301 Crain Hwy, Cheltenham, MD 20623.