James “Jim” Thomas Craig Jr. of Saugus entered into eternal rest after a brave, lengthy battle against diabetes. For years Jim was a typesetter and computer engineer at the Malden Evening News. He was always proud of the fact that during the Blizzard of 1978 the paper never missed publishing a newspaper and he had walked from Arlington to Malden to help put out the paper.
After retiring from the Malden News, Jim was the president of American Protective Services. During his reign there, Jim worked side by side with the Secret Service providing protection for President Reagan and Ross Perot when they were in town and for the British Embassy. Jim provided security details for Frank Sinatra, Stevie Nicks, Julia Roberts, Georgio Armani and many more celebrities when they were in Boston.
Due to his health Jim went into retirement. After realizing retirement was not for him, Jim worked part-time for Custom Security Services. In his spare time, Jim loved to read, fix all appliances around the house and to watch his daughter Jamie’s Equestrian competitions.
Jim is survived by his wife Lisa Lavargna Craig, his daughter Jamie Marie of Saugus and his brother Stephen Craig of Webster. He was preceded in death by his brother Robert Craig.
The Funeral will be held from the A. J. Spadafora Funeral Home, 865 Main Street, Malden on Thursday, November 12th at 9:30 a.m. followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in Blessed Sacrament Church, 16 Summer Street, Saugus at 10:30 a.m. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours are Wednesday, November 11th from 5-8 p.m. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Jim’s memory may be made to Joslin Diabetes Center, One Joslin Place, Boston, MA 02215.