Dr. James Hubert Served as Physician in Harlem

Dr. James William Hubert of Mt. Vernon, N.Y., and Aquinnah died Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2003, at the age of 84.

He was born on March 11, 1918, to James Henry and Mary Bentley Hubert in New York city. He attended Jamaica High School in Queens, and was graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Ga., in 1939 and from Meharry Medical School in Nashville, Tenn., in 1943.

He was a lifelong summer resident of Aquinnah, having been introduced to the Island by his father, who first came in 1914 and taught school in Aquinnah. As a youth in the 1930s he worked as a counselor at his father's day camp, Camp Aquinnah, located on the family property, where he honed his abilities as a sailor, swimmer and fisherman. During his adult years he was a regular and perennial cup winner in the Menemsha Pond sailboat races. He sailed as crew during the 1960s for Franklin Roosevelt Jr. aboard his New York 32, Half Moon, in the annual Edgartown Regatta.

Dr. Hubert served his country in World War II as a United States Army medical officer, with the rank of captain upon his discharge in 1946. He returned to New York from overseas duty and established his medical practice in Harlem. During the course of his more than 45 years as a practicing physician in Harlem, he served on the staffs of Harlem Hospital and St. Luke's Hospital in upper Manhattan, and as adjunct faculty to Columbia University Medical School.

Dr. Hubert was an avid sailor, fisherman, swimmer and skier. He was well known and respected on the Island as a competitor - frequently a winner - in the summer races on Chilmark Pond. He was affiliated with numerous civic and fraternal organizations including Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the 100 Black Men of New York, the Rotary Club of Upper Manhattan and the United States Power Squadron. When he was on the Vineyard, he frequently dropped in on Rotary Club meetings here. He attended the Community Church at the Circle in Mt. Vernon, N.Y.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 55 years, Hermantide Jones Hubert, whom he married on July 26, 1947; his two children, Jamie Janice Hubert and James William Hubert Jr.; his daughter in law, Jody Queen-Hubert; two grandchildren, Jonathan and Andrea Hubert; a brother, Benjamin Hubert, and his niece, Sheryl Brooks-Scott, who resides on the Island year-round.

Services in celebration of his life were held at the Community Church at the Circle (United Church of Christ) in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. on Jan. 11. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Morehouse College for the James W. Hubert, M.D., Endowed Scholarship Fund, Attn: Institutional Advancement, Morehouse College, 830 Westview Dr. SW, Atlanta, GA 30314.