ALEXANDER, JAMES PATRICK James Patrick Alexander, 67, died November 21, 2011, from a heart attack while snorkeling on vacation in the Bahamas. Jim was born in California, and grew up in Atlanta. He attended Duke University as an undergraduate, where he met his wife, Jeanne. He also graduated from Duke Law School. He loved Duke basketball , so much so that his pets were all named after Duke basketball players. His interests ranged from wine collecting to music, photography, and great family vacations. He was on the Board of the Civil Rights Institute. His family was of utmost importance to him; the love that he held for them was evident in their every interaction. He was one of the founders of the Birmingham office of Littler Mendelson, P.C. Prior to that, he was a partner at Bradley, Arant, Rose, and White for 38 years. He appeared in front of the Supreme Court. He was a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He taught employment law at the University of Alabama School of Law for 21 years. Fellow attorneys have described him as an invaluable mentor. He is preceded in death by his parents, Thelma O'Donell Alexander and Victor Elwin Alexander. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Jeanne, his daughters Rene Sears and Amy Weaver, their husbands Ben Sears and Kevin Weaver, his grandsons, Jimmy Sears and Wyatt Weaver, his sister Elizabeth, and many nieces and nephews. The family will receive visitors at their home Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30. The service will be at Independent Presbyterian Church on Wednesday at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the American Heart Association, or Idaho Rivers United. >


Married Jeanne Elizabeth Bannerman on 10 June 1967