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James D. Walton
March 27, 2019

Obituary

James Dana Walton, of Waban, age 72, died after a sudden illness on March 27, 2019, surrounded by his children with his wife Susan holding his hand.

Jim was born in 1946 in Evanston, IL, the son of Herbert Dana and Carolyn Agnew Walton. He grew up outside Chicago and attended Princeton University, graduating in 1968. He attended the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and received his medical degree in 1972. After an internship in pediatrics and medicine at the Yale-New Haven Hospital, he served his residency in psychiatry at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and he was a fellow in psychotherapy at the Adams House at Faulkner Hospital. He then began his private practice in Brookline, which he continued enthusiastically until his death. He was a staff psychiatrist at the Brockton VA Medical Center and later an attending psychiatrist and then chief of the outpatient department at the Boston VA Medical Center. From 1995 to 2011, he was a staff psychiatrist at Brigham & Women’s Hospital. He was an assistant clinical professor at Tufts University Medical Center and since 1995 an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Jim’s professional home was the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (BPSI). He graduated from the psychoanalytic training program in 1981 and became a Training and Supervising Analyst in 1995. He loved the teaching that he did there over many years and served in administrative positions too numerous to list. He co-founded the Ethics Education Committee and served as BPSI President from 2015 to 2017.

Jim was a longtime active member of the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church. He served the church in many ways and was twice a Deacon.
 
Above all, Jim treasured his family. He was fun-loving, affectionate, and curious, whether playing in the sandbox with his grandchildren, enjoying coffee with his sister Joan, appreciating music with his sons Jeff and Peter, or cheering for the Red Sox. Jim and Susan were married for 49 years and their lives together included much love and laughter; Truro on Cape Cod was a special place for the two of them and their family. He was an active father when his children were young, coaching his sons’ Little League baseball teams, building a dollhouse with his daughter, and supporting their musical talents on drums, saxophone, piano, and tap shoes. He had great fun being with Laura, Jeff, and Peter as adults and seeing how close they are with one another. His children will be forever grateful for his loving guidance, his laughter, and his support in their lives.

Jim is survived by his wife Susan, his daughter Laura Rachel Doyle and husband Christopher, his son Jeffrey Dana, his son Peter Robert and wife Christina Rosenthal, and his grandchildren Henry and Anne Doyle. Also surviving are his sister, Joan Walton Moore and her husband Charles, nephews Charles and William; his brother-in-law David Scharlotte and his wife Monique, nephews Benjamin and William; his aunt Ann Agnew; and a large extended community of family, friends, patients, and colleagues.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 am on Monday, April 1, 2019 at Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, 207 Washington Street, Wellesley, 02481. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jim’s memory to the Wellesley Hills Congregational Church, the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, 141 Herrick Road, Newton Centre 02459, or Common Cathedral, 15 Newbury Street, Boston 02116.

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George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Homes
477 Washington Street
Wellesley, MA 02482
781-235-4100