James Robert McCredie, renowned archaeologist, astute academic, beloved husband and father, died on July 15 at the Princeton Medical Center. He was 82.

He was born on New Year's Eve, 1935 in Chicago, Illinois to William and Mareta (Black) McCredie. He travelled east to attend Phillips Exeter Academy, where he received a classical diploma. Throughout his life, people knew him as a Harvard man. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Literature ('58) and also received his PhD ('63) from Harvard with his dissertation, "Fortified Military Camps in Attica."

He was one of those fortunate people whose talents, interests and career aligned. In an interview, Mr. McCredie once shared the following interpretation of his path into archaeology: "the Greek historian [at Harvard, Sterling Dow] said, 'Do something useful,' so he sent me out to Gordian in Turkey to dig, and I thought that was fun…" And, while his seriousness as a classical archaeologist, as a gifted teacher and as a generous mentor was never in doubt, fun was always integral to, and perhaps a secret to, his success.

In 1962, Mr. McCredie began an association with the island of Samothrace in the northern Aegean that would last the rest of his life. He joined the small team of archaeologists excavating and researching the Sanctuary of the Great Gods there and assumed the role of director in 1966.  The Samothracian Great Gods were the center of one of the most famous mystery cults of Greek antiquity, dating to the fourth century BC. Over the subsequent 50 years of excavation and research he transformed scholars' understanding of Hellenistic architecture. His time as a field archaeologist was generously shared with hundreds of students who thrived under his patient direction and mentoring.

He was appointed director of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 1969, just six years after finishing his dissertation. He guided the School through unsettling times under the Junta in Greece, putting it at the epicenter of classical studies in Greece. After returning to the United States in 1977, he then chaired the school's managing committee from 1980-1990 and served as president of the board of trustees from 2001-2010.

His academic career was affiliated primarily with the Institute of Fine Arts in New York. Mr. McCredie came to the institute in in 1961 as an instructor, rose to professor in 1978 and served as director from 1983-2002. In 1988, he was named Sherman Fairchild Professor of Fine Arts, becoming emeritus in 2002.

In addition to numerous other awards and distinctions received over his lifetime, Mr. McCredie was a member of the American Philosophical Society, a member of the Institute for Advanced Studies, an honorary citizen of Samothrace (Greece) and held an honorary degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece).

Beyond the particulars of his prodigious career in academia and classical archaeology, Mr. McCredie will be remembered for his self-effacing personality, his insistence on always giving credit to others, his wry and ready sense of humor, his consummate good judgement, and his patient attention to detail. He is survived by and will be profoundly missed by his wife of 58 years, Marian Lucille Miles McCredie, his son, Miles William McCredie, his daughter Meredeth McCredie Winter, son-in-law Mark Jay Winter, grandchildren William Vanderhoek Winter and Eleanor Cornelia Winter, and by the countless students and colleagues whose lives he influenced.