Obituary: James “Jim” Orlo Pringle M.D.

 James “Jim” Orlo Pringle M.D. SCARBOROUGH – James “Jim” Orlo Pringle, 87, passed away peacefully on May 30, 2026, at Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough, Maine, surrounded by the care and comfort of those who loved him. He had battled metastatic prostate cancer and a rare prostatic sarcoma for several years. Jim was born on Oct. 5, 1938, in Geneva, Pa. He grew up in Greenville, Pa. as part of a seven generation farm family in the close-knit farming community of western Pennsylvania. It was a heritage that shaped his values throughout his life. As a boy he spent time on his grandparent’s dairy farm in Stoneboro, Pa. and working at his father’s Pringle Feed Store in Greenville. He was active in the Boy Scouts and football and was President of his class. He graduated Penn High in Greenville in 1956. In 1960 he graduated from Pennsylvania State University, where he was a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and participated in Naval ROTC. Upon graduation he entered the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI. Jim often spoke fondly of his years in the Navy. Following Officer Candidate School, he served aboard the destroyer USS Perkins, home ported in San Diego, Calif. As a navigator and operations officer, he served with distinction for four years, attaining the rank of Lieutenant. During his naval service, Jim developed a growing interest in medicine. After leaving the Navy in 1964, he decided not to return home to work with his father’s feed business or grandfather’s farm. Instead he attended Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio to take the required PreMed studies to enter Medical School. He pursued his medical studies at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, receiving his M.D. in 1970. While in medical school, he met Jane Pearson, who would become his beloved wife and lifelong partner. They were married in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1969. Jane graduated from medical school in 1971. Jim completed two years of General Surgery Residency at University Hospitals of Cleveland before pursuing a Urology Fellowship at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Jane completed her Internal Medicine internship also at University Hospitals in 1972, transferring her residency to McGill as well. They both completed their training in 1975. Their first child, Abigail, was born in 1973 during their years in Canada, beginning the family that would remain the center of Jim’s life. In 1975 Jim and his family settled in Portland, Maine, where he joined Bruce Nelson, M.D. in private practice and began a distinguished career as a urologist. Their practice grew to include Hugh Robinson, M.D. and John Dyhrberg, M.D. In 1976 they welcomed their son, Dwight, and Jim became Board Certified in Urology in 1977 and was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons in 1979. That same year, he and Jane answered the enduring pull of rural life, moving their young family to an eighteenth-century farmhouse on 20 acres in Windham, Maine. Their daughter Rachel joined the family shortly before the move. For two decades, Jim cared for patients with skill, compassion, and dedication. He served as an attending urologist at Maine Medical Center and as Chief of Urology at Mercy Hospital in Portland. He also taught future physicians as a clinical instructor affiliated with both Tufts University School of Medicine and the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Jim was predeceased by his parents Dwight K. Pringle and Bernice I. (Sweny) Pringle, and his sister, Lynda Pringle Holm. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Jane Pearson Pringle, M.D.; his daughter Abigail Pringle and her husband, David Cromleigh, of Columbus, Ohio; his son, Dwight Pringle, M.D. of South Portland, Maine; his daughter Rachel Pringle and her husband, Luke Frederick, of Truckee, Calif.; and his four grandchildren, Elliot Atcheson, Catherine Cromleigh, Alden Frederick, and Mikaela Frederick. He is also survived by multiple in-laws, nieces and nephews and great nieces and great nephews, all of whom he held dear. A memorial service will be held later this summer. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Gosnell Memorial Hospice House 11 Hunnewell Rd. Scarborough, ME 04074 in gratitude for the compassionate care and comfort provided to Jim during his final days or to: a charity of your choice Copy the Story Link