In Memory of Rev. James “Jim” Hobart (January 4, 1935 – May 2, 2023)

We offer our condolences to the family and colleagues of the Rev. James “Jim” Alfred Hobart, who died on May 2, 2023, at the age of 88.

Jim was born on January 4, 1935, in Enterprise, AL to Rev. Alfred Walters Hobart and Mary Aymar Colley Hobart. His father was a Unitarian minister and as a son of a minister, the church was a part of his everyday life. He was active in church committees, taught church school classes, attended continental conventions, and was a member of the American Unitarian Youth (AUY) and the Liberal Religious Youth (LRY). He saw his father’s work as a minister, an administrator, a personal relations expert, and a community worker. Jim received his Bachelor of Arts with a major in Psychology from Antioch College, OH in 1958 following which he worked as a Juvenile Probation Officer at the Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court of Jefferson County Birmingham, AL. In this position, he worked with psychologists, psychiatrists, school authorities, social workers, lawyers, people in charge of correctional institutions, the police, parents, and community organizations. All these experiences and his growing up in a church environment contributed to developing his interest in ministry. He realized that the Unitarian ministry could offer him more freedom than most other professions to focus his experience and interest and contribute on a level more intimate and more challenging. The atmosphere of freedom in a Unitarian church, its democracy, and the stimulation of working with people of similar minds and interests appealed to him greatly. In 1964, he graduated with his Bachelor of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School. Rev. Hobart was ordained by the Unitarian Church in Birmingham, AL on July 26, 1964. He served his first ministry at the Unitarian Society, Upton, MA for three years (1964-1967). He then ministered at the Cleveland UU Parish, OH as an Urban Minister-at-Large (1967-1970), and at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church in Chicago Heights, IL (1970-1973). In 1975, he accepted a call from the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, PA. He served the First Unitarian until 1980; his ministry brought insight, empathy, sympathy, skill, and conscientiousness in dealing with the sick and dying, the bereaved, the newborn, and concerned young people dealing with the intricacies of matrimony and career planning. From 1981 to 1982, Rev. Hobart provided his interim services at the Third Unitarian Church of Chicago, IL. His intuitive understanding of the urban church goals, his sensitive handling of problems, and his genuineness in the pulpit and public relations proved to be ideal for the church. Subsequently, he served as an interim minister at the UU Area Church at First Parish Sherborn, MA (1982) and Tree of Life UU Congregation, McHenry, IL (1983). Later in 1983, Rev. Hobart was called to the First Unitarian Society of Denver, CO. After nearly eight years of productive ministry at the First Unitarian, in 1991, he and his wife Rev. Nan Hobart were installed as co-ministers. Together they shared in the building of a strong church – a religious community that made a real difference in serving and strengthening the lives of people and the community. In 2001, the First Unitarian Society of Denver honored Rev. Hobart as their minister emeritus. Jim served the Third Unitarian Church of Chicago, IL again in 2002 as a transitional minister and then Beverly Unitarian Church, IL (2003-2005) as an interim. At Beverly, he accomplished maintaining right relations in the congregation and building on and maintaining good congregational relations in decision-making. Likewise, he helped the UU Church of Bloomington Normal, IL (2008-2009) in the revision of the constitution and served as a resource in planning their Sesquicentennial. He also was vital in providing support to their Ministerial Search Committee. His interim ministry at Tree of Life UU Congregation, IL (2010) and Lake Country UU Church, Hartland, WI (2011-2013) demonstrated gains in the areas of worship/preaching, membership development, stewardship/finance, and leadership development. In addition to his interim and parish ministries, Rev. Hobart sat on the board of the Greater Pittsburgh UU Council (1977-1979); served the Nominating Committee of the UUSC (1978-1979) and the UU Urban Church Coalition Steering Committee (1978-1979). He was chair of the Metro UU Coalition (1984-1985); convenor of the Front Range UU Peace Network; and president of the MD District UU Ministers and of the Front Range UU Ministers. He was elected to the UU Commission on Appraisal (1987) and served on the UUA Board of Trustees (1993-2001). Furthermore, he served the Central Midwest District, Evanston, IL as an interim director of Congregational Services (2004-2005); as an interim district executive for the Central Midwest District, Hillside, IL (2005-2006), and as an interim director of Field Education for Meadville Lombard Theological School, IL (2007-2008). Jim also provided services to community organizations. He was one of the board members of the Chicago Area Council of Liberal Churches, the South Suburban Human Relations Council; and chair of the Chicago Area Liberal Ministers (1971-1973). From 1973 to 1975, he was co-executive director for the Jefferson County Child Development Council in Birmingham, AL, and convenor of the Coalition for Integrated Schools, Pittsburgh, PA (1978). He sat on the board of the Persad (Sexual Minority Counseling Center) (1978-1979); the Allegheny County Council on Civil Rights; the Metro Denver Urban League (1985); and the Colorado Council of Churches. A common thread throughout Jim’s life and his ministry was his commitment to social justice and his work to advance civil and voting rights.  In his spare time, he enjoyed symphony, movies, theatre, travel, hiking, reading, beating family members at progressive rummy and SkipBo, and watching any professional sports team from Pittsburgh, with special fondness for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jim is survived by his wife Nan Hobart; children: Robin, Peter, Christopher, and their mother, his former wife Rosamond Williams Hobart – their daughter Kara preceded him in death; stepchildren: Suman and Janak Paranjape; grandchildren: Ezequiel, Lucille, Sarah, Sumana, Morgan, and Connor; and his sister Barbara Hobart Mathews. A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. on Friday, August 25, 2023, at the First Unitarian Church of Chicago, 5650 S. Woodlawn Ave., Chicago, IL 60637. Memorial donations may be made to The Living Legacy Project, 1248 CarMia Way #1015, Richmond, VA 23235. Notes of condolence can be sent to Nan Hobart at 5201 S Ingleside Ave, Chicago, IL 60615.