It is with sadness, regret and heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Dr John Vincent James on the 6th July 2021 in Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa. John has been a stalwart of the rock engineering fraternity and mining industry for 45 years. John was a Fellow of both SANIRE and the SAIMM.  He will be remembered for his knowledge of most things worldly, his passion for rock engineering and notably his ability to mould young engineers into respected professionals. His legacy will live on in those that he mentored.  John played a pivotal role in the compilation of the syllabi of the Rock Mechanics Certificates, as they stand today.  He held positions as Managing Director of Celtis Geotechnical, Group Rock Engineering Consultant for JCI, Manager Rock Engineering for DRD and in his early days various positions at Rodio, SRK and Anglo American.  Our thoughts are with his wife Lindy and three daughters Phillipa, Kate and Abigail.