M.W. James T. McWain Biography 2011

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Brother James T. McWain

Born December 23, 1938 on the family dairy farm in Norton, Vermont, James T. McWain lived there with his parents, Morris L. McWain and Bertha Haley McWain, and grandparents, Joseph A. Haley and Mamie LaPointe Haley. He attended high school at Island Pond, Vermont, where his parents moved after selling the farm after World War II.
Jim played baseball and basketball on the high school teams, and was very involved in winter skiing and waterskiing. Jim began working in his uncle's grocery store while in the eighth grade and continued until his graduation in 1956.

Brother McWain was accepted at Norwich University, Vermont, and joined the United States Army Reserve in his senior year. At Norwich University, he majored in business administration and progressed through the cadet ranks to become a Lieutenant Colonel, Battalion Commander in his senior year. He became a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and the Order of DeMolay in his junior year, and in his senior year became a member of Island Pond Lodge No. 44, being raised on March 24, 1960.

MWB McWain was a Distinguished Military Graduate from Norwich University in 1960 and was commissioned in the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant. (He would later earn a Master's Degree from Shippensburg University in public administration.) He attended the Army Armor Officers Basic Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky, followed by the Ranger Course and the Jump (parachute) School at Ft. Benning, Georgia. He was assigned to patrol the East/West German border, for three years and was promoted to Captain and command of his unit’s "B" Troop.

While stationed in Bavaria he had the opportunity to visit Masonic lodges in Bayreuth and Hof. A number of Masons in the area petitioned the American Canadian Grand Lodge and Bro. McWain became one of the charter members of Border Lodge, Hof, Germany.

Ordered back to Ft. Knox, Kentucky in 1964 to attend the Armor Officers Advance Course, Jim married the former Elaine Smith of Denver, Colorado that December. After graduation, they moved to Syracuse, New York, where he was assigned to the Syracuse University ROTC unit. Twin daughters Patricia and Robin were born while he was stationed in Syracuse in 1967. His next assignment was to Vietnam, where was promoted to Major.

On his return stateside, Brother McWain was assigned to the Combat Development Command at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where son (and now Past Master) Scott was born. After reporting to the General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, he joined the Armed Forces Scottish Rite, and then joined Abdullah Shrine in Kansas City, Kansas, and was introduced to National Sojourners, joining the Chapter and Camp at Ft. Leavenworth. It was there that youngest son Kevin was born.

Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1971, he was ordered to the Panama Canal Zone in the fall of 1973; Jim ended up assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon. Following stints at Ft. Carson, Colorado and the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, he returned to Germany andt the Combined Arms School in Vilseck. He was selected for Brigade Command, overseeing 5000 soldiers in Schweinfurt, Germany, and spent two years in that position.
In the fall of 1986, RW McWain was re-assigned to the faculty of the Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. He was able to reconnect with Hancock Lodge No. 311, where he was Junior and Senior Deacon during his two years there. He also became active in the National Sojourners Chapter and Heroes Camp, as well as enjoying times at Shrine functions in Kansas City.

Retiring from the army in 1987, Jim received a call about a position as Director of Customer Support at Lycoming in Stratford, Connecticut. Hired, he moved to Stratford in 1988. His family was in Colorado, and they decided to remain there. Jim again reconnected with Masonry and affiliated with Ansantawae Lodge No. 89, Milford, in 1994. Jim was also Director of International and Military Programs, LEED Corporate Services, Danbury, and owner of McWain Enterprises as a consultant with Lockheed Aviation.

Masonic friends introduced him to Bonnie L. Schulz of Fairfield, and they married in 1995. Mrs. McWain has a prominent position as director of finance for Fairfield Public Schools, and is a director of the Masonic charity foundation of Connecticut.

In 1995, Bro. McWain affiliated with Temple Lodge No. 65, Westport, becoming Junior Warden in 1999, Senior Warden in 2000, and advanced to the Oriental Chair in 2001. He also served on the Board of Masonicare at Newtown and was elected to the Board of Trustees of Masonicare.

MW Walter Kaechele induced Bro. McWain to join the Grand line. In 2003, RW McWain became the Grand Junior Steward and progressed through the chairs to become  Grand Master in 2011. He has been on many Grand Lodge committees, including publicity and public relations, session hospitality, strategic planning, budget and finance, honors and awards, and the Grand Lodge permanent endowment fund, and is the Grand Representative to the Grand Lodge of Vermont.

McWain_50_yearIn the year 2010, Bro. McWain became a 50 year Mason. MW Charles A. Buck, Jr., with his suite of Grand Lodge officers, conducted this special ceremony in Temple Lodge No. 65. It was a momentous occasion for then RW McWain and the lodge room was filled with many family, friends, and colleagues.

During his years in the line, Jim McWain has met many wonderful people and has been welcomed traveling in other jurisdictions, where he has learned much from the dedicated Masons who have the same goals, standards, excitement, responsibilities, and challenges that we have in Connecticut. He looks forward to the coming year and hopes that it will be as memorable to all Masons in this jurisdiction as it will be to him.