James E. Fenlason ’59 died on September 10, 2026, in Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
James E. Fenlason ’59
(The following was provided by the Legacy.com on September 10, 2026:)
Longmeadow, MA – James E. Fenlason, 89, formerly of Hamden, Maine, died September 10 at his home in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, following a brief illness.
Born in Brewer, Maine, on January 5, 1937, Jim was the son of Harold and Marion Fenlason. He attended local schools and graduated from Hebron Academy in Hebron, Maine, prior to entering Bowdoin College on a State of Maine Scholarship.
An active athlete, he played three varsity sports in high school, served as co-captain of his senior high school football team, and was a member of Bowdoin’s varsity football team during his freshman and sophomore years.
In 1957, he moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, to complete his education at American International College, from which he graduated with honors in 1962. He became a teacher of English and history, as well as a guidance counselor, later serving as the director of special education for the Springfield Public Schools, a position he held until his retirement in 1994. In his special education role, he helped Springfield interpret and implement Chapter 766, the Commonwealth’s landmark 1972 special education legislation that later served as the model for the first federal special education law.
A son of Maine and a New Englander to his core, he was hard-working and self-effacing, wary of pretension, and stoic in the face of sustained chronic pain. He listened quietly and read extensively, often biographies, reflecting deeply on what constitutes a good life. He cheered the Red Sox in every season.
Continuing his love of sports, he coached his children’s extracurricular teams during their school years. In retirement, he spent many summers at his family’s lakeside camp in midcoast Maine, where he fished, reconnected with family and longtime friends, and celebrated the annual return of generations of bald eagles and loons that passed offshore.
He was predeceased by his parents; by his first wife, Barbara E. Fenlason, who died early in their marriage; and by his sister Elizabeth (Betty) Belcher. He leaves behind his sister Martha Gaudet of Palm City, Florida; his wife, Linda Fenlason, of Longmeadow; his daughter Laurie and her wife, Geneva Brinton, of Northampton, Massachusetts; his son Jeffrey and his wife, Kristin Morton, of Annapolis, Maryland; his son Jason and his wife, Abigail Lipinski-Fenlason of Somers, Connecticut; his grandchildren Isabel, Rylee, Kyle, Mallory, and Colleen; and nieces and nephews around the country.