James T. Keefe Jr. ’49 died on January 21, 2016, in Nashua, New Hampshire.
(The following was published in the Lowell Sun on Jan. 28, 2016):
LOWELL, MA — James T. Keefe Jr., 86, a former longtime and well known Lowell resident, died Thursday, January 21, 2016 at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua, NH.
He was the husband of the late Blanche A. (Deveau) (Donovan) Keefe and was predeceased by his first wife, Therese (Bourgeois) Keefe who died in 1989.
Born in Hartford, CT on February 20th, 1929, the only child of the late James T. and the late Catherine (Cogger) Keefe, he spent his early childhood with his parents in the Highlands section of Lowell on Pine Street where he attended St. Margaret’s School before moving later on to the Pawtucketville section of Lowell, MA and went on to graduate from Lowell High School in 1946.
An Eagle Scout Commendation from the Boy Scouts of America, Jim went on to attend Bowdoin College where he graduated in 3 years with a Bachelor of Sciences Degree in Chemistry in 1949. At Bowdoin he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi Fraternity.
A veteran of the Korean War, he proudly served his country as a member of the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953.
Jim then went to work at Upjohn through 1956, Grace Chemical until 1961 before starting the James T. Keefe Company in 1961, a Graphic Arts dealership located first on Jackson Street and then moved to Perkins Street in Lowell. He later merged his company with DM Products of Rockland, MA where he was President from 1979 to 1995. He continued in Sales for several Graphic Arts Dealerships, and shared office space with his son, Ray since 1986, until stricken with Parkinson’s Disease in 2010.
He spent his winters with his second wife, Blanche in Highland Beach, FL to whom he was married for thirty years until she passed away in 2007.
Jim was on the Board of Directors for the Boston Litho Club from 1962 through 1966 and was President of the D’Youville Manor from 1969 to 1970. He was also on the Board of Directors of the Lowell Chamber of Commerce from 1966 to 1969 and a member of the Catholic Charities Bureau in 1970. Jim was a member of the AA Fellowship for 39 years and helped hundreds of members along the way by sponsoring new members and speaking at meetings all over the region. He was truly loved in that Fellowship. He was a past Patriot and Bruins Season ticket holder and attended the Masters Golf Tournament as a guest of his dear friend Jim Cook of Concord, NH for over ten years. He loved all sports and was a member of Vesper Country Club for sixty-seven years.
Jim is survived by a daughter, Ellen M. Johnston and her husband, Scott of Lowell, MA; two sons, James T. Keefe III of Honolulu, HI, and Raymond C. Keefe and his wife, Lisa of Hollis, NH; eight grandchildren, Gregory Keefe of Dracut, MA, Jackie Keefe of Montana, James, Casey and Lainey Johnston, all of Lowell, MA; Tanner Keefe of Silver Spring, MD and Isabel and Miles Keefe, both of Hollis, NH; three stepdaughters, Jane McInerny of Beaufort, NC, Betsy Noyes and her husband, Peter of Lynn, MA, and Kathey Donovan of Concord, NH; and his nieces, Martha Otterbeck and Janet Bourgeois. Five step grandchildren, Kelly and Sean Noyes, Raymund Casieri, Michelle Sayani & pre-deceased by Ali Sayani.
He also leaves a dear friend, Joan Hackett of Highland Beach, FL.