Newbury, Vt. —
Jim’s cancer journey began in 1982 with the diagnosis of testicular cancer. Thanks to the special efforts of the DHMC Norris Cotton Cancer Center surgeons and plastic surgeons Jim was able to continue his work for the USDA Forest Service, where he marked timber, fought massive forest fires, rescued lost and ill hikers and identified archaeological artifacts for 39 years.
If you would like to remember Jim please hug a tree or wear your orange vest during hunting season. Jim’s memory will live on, on all of the trails he walked in both the White Mountains and the Green Mountains, in all of the National Forests and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service sanctuaries.
Family and friends would like to give special thanks to Dr. Thomas Colacchio, General Surgery, who saved Jim’s life many times; Dr. Daniel Root (Dermatology) and Dr. Kathryn Zug, who identified a rare skin lymphoma (Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma) and Dr. Thomas Davis, the oncologist who met with us during Jim’s final hours.
We would also like to thank President Richard Nixon who changed the course of the Viet Nam war and allowed Jim to receive an honorable discharge, several weeks before he was due to be deployed to Saigon as a crane operator.