James Archibald Livingston Jr.

James Archibald Livingston, junior died on February 5, 2015. He was born August 8, 1918 in Macon, Georgia where his father, a doctor in the Medical Corp of World War I, was stationed. When he was four years old his family moved to Birmingham, Alabama, where his father practiced medicine. James is predeceased by his father, Dr. James Archibald Livingston, senior, his mother, Hazel Wiley Livingston, his step-sister Alida Livingston Jeffries Wilkinson (Mrs. Edgar) of Selma, and his daughter-in-law Susan Bevill Livingston. He is survived by his devoted wife of sixty-seven years, Margaret Morrow Gresham Livingston. He is also survived by his children, Dr. Mary Margaret Livingston Hindman (Brian Ward) of Ruston, LA, James Archibald Livingston III, Katherine Wiley Livingston Rutledge (Paul Edmund III) of Charlotte, NC, Dr. Elizabeth Gresham Livingston of Durham, NC and his grandchildren, Katherine Dewes Rutledge Nelson (Thomas Reagan, Jr.), Margaret Suzanne Rutledge Beal (Christopher Lucas) of Chapel-Hill, NC, James William Hindman, Sarah Livingston Weiner of Durham, NC, Margaret Livingston Hindman of Ruston, LA, Paul Milton Livingston Weiner of Durham, NC and Patricia Elizabeth Livingston, and great-grandson, Paul Livingston Nelson. He is also survived by his brother, Dr. Wiley Kemp Livingston (Minnie Lee Barker) and nephews, Dr. Wiley Kemp Livingston, Jr., Dr. David Barker Livingston, and John Hartridge Livingston (Constance) and niece Rev. Hazel Wilkinson of Mt. Pleasant, SC.

Mr. Livingston received an A. B. degree and a M. B. A. with distinction from the University of Michigan majoring in Actuarial Mathematics, and started his career in the Actuarial Department of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. in New York. To be nearer his home in Birmingham he accepted an actuarial position with the National Life and Accident Insurance Company in Nashville, Tennessee. During World War II he volunteered with the U.S. Navy Reserve in the V7 Ensign training program in Chicago. He returned to National Life, and from there he was recruited to become Actuary of Liberty National Life Insurance Company, in Birmingham, Alabama, where he remained the rest of his business career. His rise in the ranks of Liberty National was steady from Actuary to Vice President and Actuary, Senior Vice President and Actuary, and Executive Vice President and Chief Actuary. He was a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a founding member and past president of the Southeastern Society of Actuaries. He was also a member of the boards of directors of Liberty National, Brown Service Funeral Homes, and Liberty National Fire Insurance Company.

He served on the vestry of the Episcopal Church of the Advent, the boards of the Metropolitan YMCA of Birmingham, the English Speaking Union as past president, and The Jefferson County T. B. Board as a past president (now Lakeshore Hospital). He was a member of Mountain Brook Club, The Country Club of Birmingham, The Club, the Rotary Club, (a Paul Harris Fellow), the Redstone Club, The Monday Club, the St. Andrews Society of the Middle South as a founding member, and the Society of the Revolution. His interests were many and included American history, genealogy, and the history of Scotland and England. The Falkirk Library in Scotland, an early home of the Livingstons, makes use of the books that he researched and wrote on the Livingston family as references for those seeking Livingston information. He will be remembered for his love of and devotion to family and his dedication to both his business and to his church. The family would like to express gratitude to his devoted caretakers, Amelia and Nathaniel Perry, Odessa Scott, Valerie Rice, and John Brown.

Services will be held at The Cathedral Church of the Advent on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 11:00AM with visitation following. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Cathedral Church of the Advent, 2017 Sixth Avenue North, Birmingham, Alabama, 35203, or to a charity of one’s choice.