| Notes |
Died:
James Jay Duquette 1960 - 2011 SPRINGFIELD - James Jay Duquette, 51, of Springfield, died on Tuesday December 20, 2011 surrounded by the love of his family after a brief, but fierce, battle with brain cancer. Born on September 13, 1960 to Bill Duquette and Jane (Sullivan) Duquette of Springfield, Jay graduated from Cathedral High School in 1978, a national merit scholar with a full academic scholarship to the University of Vermont. After only one year at UVM, Jay returned to Springfield intent on forging a less conventional educational path that included degrees in automotive mechanics, computer science, and finance. Just this past May, Jay graduated from Western New England College School of Law, where he earned a Juris Doctor degree. When he died, Jay was a Graduate Fellow at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass, Amherst, where he was working on yet another degree. While at UMass, Jay enjoyed touting his membership in the United Auto Workers Union, which represents UMass graduate assistants. In his 20's Jay worked as an auto mechanic and tow truck driver and rebuilt and sold old cars. He worked as an information technology specialist at the Phoenix Insurance Company for several years and, in his late 30's, became a freelance consultant living and working in Springfield, New York, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. He worked as a consultant with the U.S. Treasury Department and the U.S. Census Bureau in the late 1990s. When friends asked what he was doing at the Census Bureau, he liked to simply say "counting." Jay taught courses for many years at Holyoke Community College and for a couple of years taught at Putnam Vocational High School in Springfield - a job he found particularly rewarding. More than anything else, Jay enjoyed thinking, reading and socializing with family and friends. He was the family historian and philosopher, always willing and able to provide counsel and companionship to family and friends. Over the last several years, he became a very special friend and playmate to his nieces and nephews, Austin, Deirdre, James, Jerold, Bridget, Francis, and Sasha who will all miss their Uncle Jay deeply. In addition to his parents and his nieces and nephews, Jay will be deeply missed by his sister, Lauren; his brothers, Jonathan and Jerold; his sisters in law, Stacy and Kara; and his many extended family members and friends. Jay's family will receive friends on Tuesday December 27th from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Sampson's Chapel of the Acres Funeral Home, 21 Tinkham Road in Springfield. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday December 28th beginning at 8:30 a.m. at Sampson's, followed by a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in Holy Cross Church, 221 Plumtree Road, with Rites of Committal and Interment to follow in Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 421 Tinkham Road, all in Springfield.
Published by The Republican from Dec. 24 to Dec. 25, 2011.
|
1960 - 2011 (51 years)
