John James (Jim) Kuhn
According to a 1936 affidavit filed in Texas translating his
original Mexican birth certificate into English, John James Kuhn was born July
4, 1918 at home in Mexico City to Leonard Kuhn, age 30, a merchant from
Kentucky, USA and Virginia Couttolenc, age 25, from Mexico. The Mexican birth certificate listed his name
as Juan Santiago Kuhn.
Known as Jimmy or Jaime as a boy, he was educated by a
French tutor and then at schools in Mexico and France. Fluent in three
languages, he studied at the University of Louvain in Belgium but found Flemish
difficult, so transferred to the University of Lyon to pursue a medical degree.
He returned to Mexico in 1940 as the war began to heat up in Europe and pursued his interest in photography until offered a job by Pan American Airways.
On December 8, 1941, one day after the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor, Jim became the first American in Mexico to volunteer for the U.S.
Marines. He served with the First Marine Division in the Pacific theater during
World War II and was aboard the heavy cruiser Northampton when it was sunk by a
Japanese warship on Dec. 1, 1942 off Guadalcanal. On reaching shore, he found
himself behind Japanese lines. He led a group of survivors for 23 days,
successfully returning them to U. S. lines.
In 1944, he was appointed by President Roosevelt as a Second
Lieutenant, a member of the 44th Reserve Officers Class of Quantico,
a unit of outstanding enlisted men chosen for battlefield bravery and
leadership potential. After receiving his commission, he returned to the South
Pacific, serving in the U.S. Occupation Forces in Japan. In July 1945, he was appointed a First
Lieutenant. When he returned from Japan, he was stationed at Camp Pendleton,
California and requested discharge in October 1946.
His military ‘fitness’ evaluations describe him as 6’ 2,” with
grey eyes and light brown hair. Consistently rated as ‘outstanding,’ additional
remarks praised him as: “a splendid leader and instructor for young officers.
Meticulous on details and very conscientious. Quiet but forceful, enthusiastic
and conscientious. Always doing more than required of him in a constructive
manner.”
After the war, he resumed his business career in Mexico (at Kodak)
where he met Juanita Stancliff Merry. They were married on May 6, 1950 in San
Clemente, California and he adopted Juan, Juanita’s nine-year-old son by a
former marriage. That same year, he was hired by The White House, a department
store in San Francisco. Daughter Claudine Therese was born April 6, 1951 and
son Ronald Laurence, December 15, 1954. In 1955 Jim joined the Western Division
of the U. S. Chamber of Commerce in San Francisco and in 1957 transferred to the
National Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C., eventually serving as Chairman
of the Administrative Services Group.
He decided to return to Mexico in 1962 and joined the consulting
firm of Norris & Elliott where Singer Sewing Machine Company was an
assigned client. In April 1964, he became General Manager of the Helene Curtis
licensee, Distribuidora Minco, Later approached by his former client, he left
Helene Curtis to work for Singer Mexicana, eventually becoming President. He
served as Regional Vice President of Singer Company for Mexico and Central
America before he left in 1973 to work with a management consulting firm, TASA
de Mexico, a subsidiary of Consulting Partners Inc. He also served on the Board
of the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico for seven years. Outside of work,
he found time for his favorite leisure activities, primarily tennis,
horseback-riding when he could, and long walks with his family in the hills
outside of Mexico City.
He returned to Washington D.C. in 1975 to become Executive
Vice President and CEO of United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce and retired
in 1978 after a stroke. He died in his sleep August 11, 1992 at age 74. Condolence
notes offer poignant memories “his kindness, gentleness, and gallantry shone
through…” “his courage,
strength and patience will always be remembered.” He will always be
remembered by his family and friends as a gentle man AND a gentleman.
