James Brady Scherer

James Brady Scherer was born in St. Louis, Missouri on September 26, 1947. The second son of Mary Jane and Jack Scherer, his namesake was his maternal grandfather, James Brady. After some years in the Midwest, he moved to Media, Pennsylvania where he graduated as the class valedictorian of his high school and became an Eagle Scout. Jim continued his education at the University of Notre Dame where in 1970 he earned a magna cum laude degree in economics. He served his country as a lieutenant in the United States Army after which he attended Cornell University’s doctoral program. In 1983, he was awarded a PhD in Sociology.

All of these accomplishments paled in comparison when he met the love of his life, Mary Ann, at a sociology convention in Philadelphia. From there it was a whirlwind romance that continued for 38 years, spanning Ithaca, NY, Washington State, New Jersey, Salina (Isole Eolie), Italy, and lastly Washington, D.C.

A passion for automobiles that started with a bug-eyed Sprite and ended with a Lotus Europa was fostered in Jim by his father. Yet nothing compared to his devotion to his family. Along with his son Christopher, he and Mary Ann laboriously restored a family home on the beautiful island of Salina, Italy. As always, Jim pursued this endeavor with his typical dedication to perfection and beauty. There was never a job too big for Jim to tackle (occasionally to Mary Ann’s chagrin). He thoroughly enjoyed the many happy times he spent there with his family.

Battelle and AT&T were fortunate to have had the benefit of Jim’s dedication, intellect and creativity. He was pivotal in the early development of voice over internet protocol (VoIP) while at AT&T.

Jim left this world on March 2, 2023 but his spirit and energy live on in those who knew and loved him. Jim is survived by his wife of 38 years, Mary Ann, and their son Christopher as well as his sisters, Mary (Jim Brous) and Itsy, and brothers-in-law, Anthony Re (Nancy), Matthew Re (Amy) and Joseph Re (Heather), and sisters-in-law Judy Scherer, Margaret Re, Mary Elizabeth Re and Mary Ellen Re (Kevin Caggiano).

Services will be held on Saturday, March 18th, 2023 at 11:00 am at Holy Rosary Church, 595 Third St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to Habitat for Humanity https://www.habitat.org/, a charity to which the family is devoted.