James “Jim/Jimmy” Ira Dushion, 85, of The Villages, FL, passed away on 8/16/23, from injuries sustained in a golf cart accident on 6/6/23. He was born on June 24, 1938, in Orange, MA to the late Jesse and Ethel (Groves) Dushion and was a 1956 graduate of Orange High School. He worked at the Erving Paper Mill until he was drafted into the Army in 1963 during the Vietnam War. He served in Fort Huachuca, AZ from 1963 to 1965 as a Military Police Officer. Jim and his wife, Jean, were married in 1964 and eventually moved to Greenfield, MA where he became a full-time Firefighter with the Greenfield Fire Department. He retired in 1993 as Deputy Chief and moved to The Villages, FL in 1997.
Jim loved to stay busy. He was a member of the Tuesday Men’s Golf League in The Villages and played the morning of his accident. He enjoyed making and refinishing furniture and was the neighborhood handy man, willing and able to help anyone who needed something fixed or installed at their house. He also ran errands for his neighbors and would offer to bring them to the grocery store or to doctor’s appointments. He loved watching all types of sports, especially golf, baseball, football and car racing. Jim enjoyed a lifetime of traveling with his wife, Jean, where they crisscrossed the country several times to visit family and went on more than 30 cruises together. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
He leaves behind his wife, Jean (Gignac) of nearly 59 years, his daughters, Laurie Smith and her husband, Scott of Sunderland, MA and Christine Murphy and her husband, Michael of Lakeland, FL along with many nieces and nephews. Jim was preceded in death by his sisters Gladys Northrup and Virginia Woodard and his brothers Donald and Kenneth.
Services will be on Friday, October 20, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. at the Florida National Cemetery, 6502 SW 102nd Ave., Bushnell, FL.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a memorial donation in Jim’s name to the International Association of Fire Fighters Foundation, at www.iafffoundation.org.
