James Augustus McGaffigan III who was born in Germany on January 5, 1965, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Valentine’s Day, Thursday, February 14, 2019, from an electrical issue related to his heart. He leaves behind the love of his life, his wife Margaret, whom he was with for 34 years and his daughters Christianna and Isabella whom he cherished with every fiber of his being, and his faithful dog Sam, whom he always made sure got great walks in the woods. Also suffering his loss are his very adored parents, James A. McGaffigan II of Litchfield, NH, and Heidy McGaffigan MacDonald of Milford, NH, brother John R. McGaffigan and his wife Rachel of Dennis, MA, and sister Katheryn R. McGaffigan of Brooklyn, NY, dear -in-laws Cheryl R. Driscoll and her husband Tom of Harwich, MA; Donna M. Consalvi of Sandown, NH; Nancy R. Joseph and her husband Peter of Sandown, NH; loving nieces and nephews Sarah E., Anna G, Ava M. and Kayla R. McGaffigan, Mack J. Carroll, Dana J., Michael J. and Elise M. Driscoll, Peter E. Joseph, Jr. and Leah M. Reardon and their spouses and children. Jim also leaves behind his beloved aunts and uncles Neil McGaffigan of Fairbanks, Alaska, William and Barbara McGaffigan of Davenport, Iowa, John and Cindy McGaffigan of Dedham, Janet and William Mason of Concord, Helen Filla of Plymouth, Regina and Joris Brinkerhoff of Denver, CO and their families and several much loved cousins and their families.
An obituary cannot possibly capture the intelligent, kind, and generous person Jim was and how much his death has devastated his family, friends, and others who knew and loved him. Jim always exhibited great honor, class and integrity. He was refined, elegant, understated, and non-judgmental. He had a strong faith and lived his life by incorporating compassion and following a strong moral compass. Everything he did was done with care and attention. Even though Jim had degrees from the University of New Hampshire, Northeastern University and Bentley College, which constituted many years of “book learning”, he was also full of common sense and ingenuity, which he used to the benefit of all who knew him. Jim was always willing to help anyone with any project or problem whether it was by putting up fences, laying flagstone pavers, putting in light posts, or helping put in a new dock at his rowing club. In addition, he took careful care of his own house and vehicles. He enjoyed maintaining his own lawn and working on his and his wife’s car and never met a car problem, indeed any problem, he couldn’t solve. He always did his best work. Good enough was not in his vocabulary and he took pride in his finished products. He was accomplished and detail oriented.
Jim loved life and was always willing to undertake a new adventure. He was passionate about many things but his two greatest loves in life were his family and rowing. His family was his priority and he made a conscious decision to keep himself fit and to eat healthy with the goal of being around a long time to take care of them. He made sure that all his workouts happened in the early morning before his family woke up so that he could spend the entire day with them. He was a very loving and involved husband and father. He took both of these roles very seriously and did everything he could to make life easier and more enjoyable for his family. He was constantly with his family whether it was cooking his excellent meals, going to the beach, kayaking, paddle boarding, biking, hiking or vacationing in Maine where he particularly enjoyed rowing and watching the eagles. Jim’s love was always surrounding his family. He also cherished spending time with his parents, siblings, extended family, in-laws and friends.
Jim was an avid rower who mainly competed in a single and who medaled several times in the Head of the Charles Regatta. He won several other races as well and his competitors note that he kept them on their toes. He also enjoyed the collegiality of racing in doubles and quads. He was invited to try out for the 1987 National Olympic Rowing team under the world renowned Kris Korzeniowski, ultimately deciding to pursue marriage instead of rowing. In 2009, however, an opportunity to race at the U.S. Elite Nationals at Mercer Lake in Windsor, NJ presented itself. He hadn’t rowed outside for a week and a half before the race due to weather conditions and water level on the river on which he rowed (the Housatonic at Lake Lilinona). His training had consisted of some spin classes, elliptical training, weights and two erg sessions. The weekend before the race he ran 6 miles. He had only been rowing on weekends anyway due to his demanding full time job and the fact that he had a 2 year old, a three year old, and a wife undergoing cancer treatments at home. His main competitors were young, in their 20’s and training 2-3X a DAY and had been doing so for many years. Jim’s goal was to try to have a great trial performance and to survive to the finals. He surpassed this goal, however, and at the age of 44 – ancient in this rowing field - Jim became a National Champion winning the bronze medal! People asked him his age and couldn’t believe it. Later he would write, “I am a National champion at 44 years old. I think about the past year, Margaret’s cancer and everything she has been through. She inspired me…” Even in one of his greatest rowing moments he was giving credit to someone else. Many of Jim’s friends and family probably do not even know about his Champion title because, despite his rowing success he was very humble about his skill and most people were surprised to learn that he was such an accomplished rower.
Jim had many gifts. He was a true renaissance man with an internally curious mind. He was very intellectual and intelligent. Jim’s real calling was to be a doctor. He should have been a physician and, to his family and friends, he was THE medical consultant. He lovingly nursed his wife Margaret through cancer researching all the cutting edge treatments and serving not only as her caretaker but also as her advocate. He did the same when other family members were diagnosed with cancer. Jim was his family’s master splinter extractor and often recommended triple antibiotic ointment and ice as cures to many of life’s injuries. He knew the answer to most medical questions off the top of his head because he was constantly absorbing all the latest information from medical journals and scientific papers.
Jim was an avid reader and particularly enjoyed reading books by William Shakespeare, Joseph Campbell, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and books about history and the Civil War and World Wars. He was also a big fan of Homer’s Epic Poem the Odyssey. In addition to reading, music was very important to Jim. He loved classical music, including Mozart, Beethoven and Rachmaninov. Some of his favorite bands and artists included the Beatles, U2, Pink Floyd, Led Zeplin, The Police, Rush, Sting, Paul McCartney, Billie Holliday, Suzanne Vega and Eva Cassidy. Jim also loved and respected old cars particularly the Shelby Cobra and Mustangs. He loved all animals especially German Shepherds, black panthers, and birds including eagles, osprey, chickadees and hawks. He was fascinated with anything having to do with the solar system and philosophy. He also enjoyed NPR especially Click and Clack, Science Friday and Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. Jim delighted in being challenged by brain teasers, word puzzles and mathematical problems. Jim was also a very talented artist and a skilled at working with wood. He was an accomplished story teller as well and when his daughters were young he created a series of stories about a character named Mr. Otter who had many adventures with Mr. Deer and other woodland creatures and who always ended up drinking lemonade and having a picnic with his daughter’s favorite foods.
Jim loved to travel and explore new places. He traveled to Europe several times and to many locations in the United States. Among his favorite destinations were Paris, France; Venice, Italy; San Diego, California; Nantucket, Massachusetts; Stowe, Vermont; and Freeport, Maine.
One of Jim’s greatest gifts was his ability to empathize with people and show them love and affection. As a matter of practice, Jim truly looked at things from another’s perspective. He was very gentle and always had a smile or encouraging word. His death leaves a void impossible to fill. He was, is, and always will be, loved beyond measure. We are grateful to have had him in our lives even if for such a short amount of time. He is sorely missed. Funeral Services have been held.
Donations can be made in loving memory of Jim McGaffigan to Jim’s daughters Go Fund Me educational fund at www.gofundme.com.