James A Sedensky

James A. Sedensky, 87, of St. Clair Shores, Michigan, died at his home there on January 19.

Jim was born in Bridgeport on August 6, 1936, the oldest of six children of Andrew and Agnes Sedensky. He was a standout student at St. Augustine and faithful member of its parish who went on to graduate from Fairfield Prep in 1954 before earning a bachelor’s degree from Fairfield University and a Ph.D. in from the University of Tennessee. He was a visiting professor at the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, where he taught and researched under a program funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, and then joined the faculty of the medical school of Wayne State University in Detroit.

In more than three decades as a professor of physiology at Wayne State, he touched the lives of countless future doctors, and contributed to other areas of scholarship, including teaching in the departments of community medicine and mechanical engineering. His research appeared in publications including Human Biology and the American Heart Journal.

Jim found comfort in the stacks of a library and said he loved stumbling upon a book he never would have thought to look for. He devoured biographies, found beauty in the poetry of Dylan Thomas and, in retirement, found himself veering into new areas of interest, researching how constitutions develop.

To his siblings, he was a generous and protective older brother, who never forgot a birthday or anniversary and always came bearing unique and beautiful gifts.

To 14 nieces and nephews, Uncle Jim was a sage and trusted ear who enjoyed offering advice on the direction of a career or the soundness of an investment.

He was predeceased by his parents and his sister, Agnes Roach of Bridgeport. He is survived by his siblings, Andrew Sedensky and wife Joanne Re of Hanson, Mass.; Rita Sedensky of West Haven; Joseph Sedensky and wife Barbara of Bridgeport; and Therese DeRosa of Shelton.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 15, at St. Augustine Cathedral in Bridgeport. Interment will follow at Oak Lawn Cemetery in Fairfield.