1923 – 2012

FARMINGTON — James Hastings Doughty, 88, of Wilton, died late Friday evening, Oct. 5, 2012 at the Sandy River Center for Healthcare.

He was born on Oct. 16, 1923, in New York, N.Y., the son of Francis and Mary (Cain) Doughty.

He attended the Mt. Desert school through his first two years of high school. Because the school was so small, he was allowed to play in the eastern Maine high school basketball tournament as both a seventh- and eighth-grader.

In 1940 he enrolled at Fryeburg Academy for his final two years of high school and was captain and MVP of the baseball team, played basketball and was a key member of the undefeated football team. He served as class president his senior year.

Upon his graduation in the spring of ’42, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He served two tours of duty as a navigator on a B-17 crew. He was awarded the Purple Heart and proudly displayed his Purple Heart B-17 license plate on his car.

He returned to the states in 1945 and enrolled in Bowdoin College, where he played football and basketball and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity.

He graduated from Bowdoin in 1949 and accepted a teaching position at Skowhegan High School that fall. He left the teaching profession in 1953 and went to work at Norrwock Shoe as the machinery supervisor. In this capacity he traveled to trade shows throughout the country and Europe and met many people who became lifelong friends.

He and his wife, Jean (Finley), whom he married on Dec. 30, 1950, in Skowhegan, moved to Norridgewock in 1954 where he was active in many community endeavors. He served three terms as a selectman, and was elected to the school board of the newly formed MSAD54.

In the ’70s he became manager of the Capricorn Lodge at Sugarloaf and remained in that capacity until he accepted a position as director of manufacturing at Bass Shoe and moved to Wilton where he resided until his death.

He finally retired from International Paper in his mid-70s and spent the remainder of his life enjoying the position of patriarch of the family. He especially enjoyed the holidays when all the children and grandchildren gathered together.

He was known as granpa to his grandchildren and simply “Father” to everyone else. He loved three things passionately: his family, baseball — especially the Red Sox, and his wife, Jean. His 70-plus years of following the Red Sox were finally rewarded in 2004 when they won the World Series. As much as his children and grandchildren enjoyed the victory for themselves, they were grateful that Father got to savor the victory after suffering their defeats for so many years. In his final years he became an ardent follower of Skowhegan field hockey, and was in attendance for many of their games and all of their state championships.

He is survived by his wife, Jean of Wilton; four children, John Doughty and his wife, Paula, of Farmington, James Doughty and his wife, Nellie, of Concord, N.H., Jill Gray and her husband, Stephen, of Farmington, and Jodi Spiller and her husband, William, of Wilton; grandchildren, John Michael Doughty, James Doughty, Justin Doughty, Joel Timberlake, Taylor Timberlake and Tory Gray; step-grandchildren, Winston, Christian, Dylan and Jesse.

Words of condolence and tribute may be shared with James’ family and friends on his tribute wall at www.wilesrc.com.