James Sands ‘Jock’ Darling Jr.
WILLIAMSBURG Renowned organist, choir master and musical director James Sands “Jock” Darling Jr. died peacefully Jan. 26, 2021, at his Williamsburg home from advanced Parkinson’s disease.
Born May 29, 1929, in Hampton, he was the first child of James Sands Darling II and Sarah Doniphan Winfree Darling. He attended Christchurch School in Middlesex County and graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, in 1946.
He attended Yale University, where he earned undergraduate degrees in Music Theory and Piano in 1950 and 1951. In 1954, he completed a Master’s Degree in Organ at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. On Jan. 31, 1953, he married Mary Lee Oliver of Gloucester. From 1954 to 1961, he was organist and choir director at Plymouth Church of Shaker Heights, Cleveland, Ohio, and from 1961 to 2006, he held the position of organist and choirmaster at Bruton Parish Church, Williamsburg.