Montpelier man chose to end his life as he lived it, with thoughtfulness and determination.
James “Jim” Avery Plummer died at home in Montpelier, Vt., with his wife and daughters by his side, on July 31, 2023. Jim lived a long and adventurous life, and he leaves behind many who will remember him fondly and miss him dearly. He was born in Wilmington, Del., to Dorothy Lawrence and Richard Wentworth Plummer, and soon after, the family moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Jim grew up being bilingual in Spanish and English, attending local public schools and fishing in nearby rivers with his older brother, Frank. From the beginning, he was immersed in an artistic expatriate community, with performances in the family home by touring concert musicians from Europe and cocktail parties where he learned to mix drinks earlier than most. Jim began training as a classical violinist during this time and was a gifted performer from an early age. In 1944-45, the family left Argentina, and during a year living in New York City and Washington, D.C., Jim sang in the National Cathedral Choir, an experience of which he remained proud of throughout his life. By age 11, Jim’s family had relocated to Mexico City, Mexico, which would become his home base for the next 20 years. In the 1950s, he followed Frank to Vermont Academy and Yale, where he studied East Asian history, lettered in fencing and began his lifelong practice of the guitar. In 1956, Jim married Myriam Bannister (now Leary), and their son, Christopher Roland Plummer, was born in 1959. They later divorced. Jim worked selling advertising in Mexico and Colombia and then moved to Connecticut, where he began his decades-long teaching career and became increasingly interested in and committed to anti-oppressive and anti-colonialist political thought and action. In 1966, he met the love of his life, Juliana Thacher, and they married in 1967 while living in East Harlem in New York City, where they were active in the Civil Rights Movement. Jim taught at Manhattan Country School in the city and later ran its farm program in the Catskills. His students from those years still kept in touch through his last months of life. They often fondly remembered him singing them to sleep at the MCS Farm, while accompanying himself on guitar and drawing from his repertoire of hundreds of folk and traditional songs in multiple languages. Jim and Juliana raised two daughters, Katherine and Rebecca, and Jim was a fiercely…
Montpelier man chose to end his life as he lived it, with thoughtfulness and determination.
James “Jim” Avery Plummer died at home in Montpelier, Vt., with his wife and daughters by his side, on July 31, 2023. Jim lived a long and adventurous life, and he leaves behind many who will remember him fondly and miss him dearly. He was born in Wilmington, Del., to Dorothy Lawrence and Richard Wentworth Plummer, and soon after, the family moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Jim grew up being bilingual in Spanish and English, attending local public schools and fishing in nearby rivers with his older brother, Frank. From the beginning, he was immersed in an artistic expatriate community, with performances in the family home by touring concert musicians from Europe and cocktail parties where he learned to mix drinks earlier than most. Jim began training as a classical violinist during this time and was a gifted performer from an early age. In 1944-45, the family left Argentina, and during a year living in New York City and Washington, D.C., Jim sang in the National Cathedral Choir, an experience of which he remained proud of throughout his life. By age 11, Jim’s family had relocated to Mexico City, Mexico, which would become his home base for the next 20 years. In the 1950s, he followed Frank to Vermont Academy and Yale, where he studied East Asian history, lettered in fencing and began his lifelong practice of the guitar. In 1956, Jim married Myriam Bannister (now Leary), and their son, Christopher Roland Plummer, was born in 1959. They later divorced. Jim worked selling advertising in Mexico and Colombia and then moved to Connecticut, where he began his decades-long teaching career and became increasingly interested in and committed to anti-oppressive and anti-colonialist political thought and action. In 1966, he met the love of his life, Juliana Thacher, and they married in 1967 while living in East Harlem in New York City, where they were active in the Civil Rights Movement. Jim taught at Manhattan Country School in the city and later ran its farm program in the Catskills. His students from those years still kept in touch through his last months of life. They often fondly remembered him singing them to sleep at the MCS Farm, while accompanying himself on guitar and drawing from his repertoire of hundreds of folk and traditional songs in multiple languages. Jim and Juliana raised two daughters, Katherine and Rebecca, and Jim was a fiercely…