James Manilla, former Pima Community College president and vice president for development at the University of Arizona, died Nov. 20. He was 95.
Manilla died βpeacefully in his sleep at his daughterβs house in Clarkston, Michigan, where he was living,β said his son Robert Manilla.
βHe had such strong work ethics, and was active in community service,β said his son, adding that he served on boards until he was 91 years old.
He said his father influenced him through his love of family and how he cared for the community.
Daughter Kathy Manilla said: βHis entire life was built on the foundation of education, athletics, hard work and his family and friends. Everything he did somehow was related back to that.β
Manilla came to Tucson after he was hired to lead Pima Community College from 1979 to 1988. After leaving Pima, he went on to the University of Arizona where he was vice president for development for 18 years.
He also served as executive director for the UA Foundation and helped raise $100 million during a capital campaign, which was followed by another campaign five years later that raised $1 billion.
In 2008, he served as the first director of the HSL Properties Foundation, and he later became a consultant to the Carondelet Foundation, which supported a network of hospitals.
He held board of director roles with the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Tucson Airport Authority. He also was a member of the UA National Leadership Council and the Tucson Country Club.
Manilla was born June 17, 1924, in Skaneateles, New York, to Mary and James Manilla, who emigrated from Bari, Italy, in 1921. He served in the Air Force during World War II and was deployed to Europe as a lieutenant and bombardier navigator on B-26s in the 572nd Bomb Squadron, 398th Bomb Group. After 35 combat missions, he returned home in 1945 β decorated with two oak leaf clusters and a presidential citation for his squadronβs activity during the Battle of the Bulge.
He married Kathryn McLaughlin in 1947 and the couple raised four children. Manilla enrolled at the University of Michigan where he played football, basketball and freshman baseball, graduating with a bachelorβs of science degree in 1949. He later received a masterβs at Syracuse University and a doctorate in higher education administration at Wayne State University.
He worked as a high school teacher, football coach and athletic director before he went on to higher administration, becoming president at four community colleges, including PCC. He also was a collegiate football and basketball official in the Big Ten and Mid-American conferences, said his son.
Manilla was preceded in death by his former wife, Kathryn. He is survived by four children, eight grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Private services were held Wednesday, Nov. 27, in Auburn Hills, Michigan, and a celebration of Manilla’s life is set in Tucson on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 3 p.m. at Tucson Country Club. The family requests an RSVP by Monday, Jan. 6, to SJMcelebration@gmail.com
