Obituary of James H. Sweeney

James H. Sweeney, 83, of Venice, FL, died Nov. 5, 2009. Jim was a longtime resident of Melrose, Massachusetts before retiring and moving to Venice in 1990. Jim was born on April 4, 1926 in Detroit, Michigan to parents James Sr. and Ann Genevieve (Pothier), before settling in Melrose in the mid 1930’s. He graduated from Melrose High School in 1944 and served in the US Navy during Word War II. He settled back in Melrose in the late 1940’s where he worked in the banking and financial services industry, eventually retiring from Honeywell Information Systems in 1989. Jim married his first wife, Anita in 1963 and had one son Mark, born in 1965. Over the next 20 years, Jim and his family enjoyed many good times during family gatherings around the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays and annual trips to visit family in Nova Scotia. They also enjoyed many trips to Bermuda and the Caribbean. In 1976, Jim bought a vacation home at Locke Lake in Barnstead, NH from his late friends Jimmy and Leslie Sim. Over the next 20 years, Jim and his family met many good life-long friends. During this time, Jim was a member of the Church of the Incarnation in Melrose where he was head usher at the Saturday afternoon mass for many years. Many significant events occurred in Jim’s life in the late 1980’s. Sadly, his first wife Anita passed away in 1986 after loosing a battle with cancer. Mark graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and entered the US Air Force in 1987. Most significantly and happily, he met and then married Eve in 1988, adding both her and her two sons, Tim and Tom Dunn and their families to his family. After retiring in 1989, Jim set out on one of his life-long goals to retire to a warmer climate in Florida. As a young man, Jim was afflicted with polio that affected his right leg. Though he largely recovered and lived a relatively routine life, cold weather bothered him terribly, especially as he grew older. This led Jim and Eve to sell their home in Melrose and move to Venice, Florida in 1990 and embarking on their twilight years. Their first 10 years in Florida were highlighted by meeting new friends, frequent trips to the beach, visits from children, cross-country visits to family and friends in New England, Texas, North Carolina, and Virginia as well as visits and trips with their Florida friends and family (including Eve’s sister Mary and her husband, Rudy and Jim’s sister Alice and husband Bob, and Jim’s cousin, Carol Glebus and husband Bob). Beginning roughly 10 years ago (2000 timeframe), the effects of age and Jim’s past affliction with polio began taking their toll. Jim began having increasing difficulty moving around as his legs began to fail and he lost his functional ability to walk, eventually requiring use of a wheelchair in 2006. During this increasingly difficult time for him, he came to rely heavily on his wife Eve and their many neighbors, friends and family in the area. Despite his increasing immobility, he maintained a sharp mind until the day he died and communicated over the phone with friends and family across the United States and Canada. Eve, Mark and their family appreciate your presence here today as well as your thoughts and prayers as we burry Jim here today and retain the memories of him and the time we spent with him. In addition to his wife, Evangeline, now living in Wilmington, MA; Jim is survived by 3 sons, Mark of San Antonio, TX and his wife Melinda, Timothy Dunn of Andover, MA and his wife Donna., and Thomas Dunn of Montpelier, VT and his wife Kirsten.; a brother, Edward of Wolfeboro, N.H.; 2 sisters Alice Grover of Pompano Beach, FL and Ann Dewsnap of New Castle, N.H.; and 11 grandchildren; Michael, Daniel, Joseph, Jonathan, Renee, Christopher, Nicole, Mikaela, Alexandra, Madison, and Sydney. He was preceded by his first wife, Anita (Fischer) Sweeney of Melrose who died in 1986. A Memorial graveside committal of ashes will be held on August 13, 2010 at 11:30 a.m. at Puritan Lawn Memorial Park, 185 Lake Street, Peabody, MA. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited. Arrangements by the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn Street, Peabody.