Obituary of James Stillman Rockefeller Jr.

James Stillman Rockefeller, Jr. (1926-2025) died at his home of seven decades on January 8^th, the day after his 99th birthday.  Jim, also known affectionately as “Pebble,” was a writer, boatbuilder, pilot, museum founder, philanthropist, father, and husband. He was also a lover of nature and interesting characters.

Jim was born in the Manhattan apartment of his parents, Nancy Carnegie Rockefeller and James Stillman Rockefeller, Sr., and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was the grandson of William G. Rockefeller, great grandson of James Stillman, and great grandnephew of both John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. He was predeceased by his brother Andrew Carnegie Rockefeller and sister Georgia Rockefeller Rose.

Jim attended Greenwich Country Day School and Deerfield Academy, then served in the Army Air Corps during World War II.  After graduating from Yale University, where he studied English and History, he spent several years traveling and exploring before finally settling down in Camden, Maine.  In 1974, he cofounded the Owls Head Transportation Museum (the largest working transportation museum in New England) along with Tom Watson Jr. and Steve Lang and served as its chairman until 2017.  For over twenty years, at Bald Mountain Boat Works, Jim built and restored boats, vintage cars, and airplanes alongside his colleague and friend, Fred Holbrook.  As a pilot he clocked more than 2,000 hours in the air, flying until the age of 90.  An accomplished writer, Jim wrote three books and numerous magazine and journal articles.  Man on His Island, which details his travels in the Pacific, was published in 1957.  His second book, Med Liv Ombord (With Liv Onboard), recounts his journey with his first wife, Liv Heyerdahl, through the canals and rivers of France in a small Viking boat. First published in 1959 in Norwegian, it was then republished in 2017 as Still and Rushing Water in English.  Wayfarer, published in 2018 and winner of the 2019 Maine Literary Award for Memoir, describes his life of adventures, deep loves and losses, and fatherhood, depicting throughout the enduring passion of his relationships and his love of nature.  

At the very beginning of his seaward explorations on his boat Mandalay, Jim met his first love - the children’s book writer Margaret Wise Brown – on Cumberland Island, Georgia.  They were engaged to be married, but she died while away in France. Margaret introduced him to the island of Vinalhaven, Maine, where he spent years after her death loving the island and its ocean.   Jim later met Stella, the mother of his first child James Bennet (“Wawa”) during his travels to Tahiti.  Both Stella and “Wawa” have since deceased.  He married Liv Heyerdahl in 1956 in Norway, where their two children Liv Merlin and Ola Stillman Rockefeller were born.  Liv Heyerdahl died when the children were still young.  Jim was also predeceased by his two stepsons, Bjorn and Thor Heyerdahl Jr., children of Liv and the Kon-Tiki explorer, Thor Heyerdahl.  Since 1983, Jim had been deeply in love with Marilyn Moss, the writer and former CEO of Moss Inc. They were happily married for over 41 years, enjoying sailing and flying adventures together, along with quiet times at home watching birds in the garden and their view of Penobscot Bay.

As a philanthropist and enormously kind-hearted man, Jim contributed generously to non-profit organizations that addressed homelessness, civil rights, education, and nature conservation, among other causes.  Perhaps more significant was his impact on the lives of individuals whom he helped in countless ways, including college tuition assistance for Maine students.  He had an ability to believe in people who did not yet believe in themselves, and to nurture each person’s unique talents.  Jim was an extraordinary man with endless curiosity, a sharp wit, a kind demeanor, and an appreciation of life’s simple pleasures.  Jim described his own life as privileged, being able to “do pretty much whatever I wanted, but hopefully giving back a small part of what I have been given.”  To those who knew, cherished, and admired Jim, he gave humor and wisdom. He was known for his singular phrase that was at once advice, encouragement, a farewell, and more: “Courage.”

Jim is survived by his wife Marilyn, younger sister Nancy McFadden Copp, his children Liv and Ola, his stepchildren Genevieve and Jeffrey, his grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and many other family members and friends who loved him dearly.  A memorial service to honor Jim will be held at the Owls Head Transportation Museum in late spring or summer. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Jim’s honor to Homeworthy at https://homeworthy.org/donate.

Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at www.ripostafh.com