• Born: 9 Jun 1924, Bourne, Barnstable, MA
• Died: 30th January 1999; resting with his father, in Victory Hill Cemetery, Victory, VT.
• Marriage: Elizabeth Arlene Clements in late 1944 or very early 1945, probably in Lynn, Essex, MA.

Two beautiful and wonderful children were born of this union, a union sadly destined to end in divorce and tragedy for these Bairns, because their mother's heart belonged to their uncle, Edward, who stole her away.

James married second, bright and beautiful, Margaret Joan Bennett. This union also yielded a bounty of beautiful babes, six in all. Five grew tall, while one dear babe, Allen Brent, was born and sadly died in May of 1953. Fifty-three years later, one of the five, eldest daughter Eileen, joined her infant brother, in 2006.

James married a third time, another beauty, Roselyn (Brandt?) Feltner. Feltner was her previous husband's surname, with whom she had two daughters, Roxanne and Linda Feltner, (not to be confused with his eldest daughter, Linda Lee Cahoon, mentioned above). Rosalyn and James had three children: Tonya Marie, Timothy Lee, and another son, Todd, who sadly died at only a day or two of age.

It is with love that these pages began and with love they evolve, to include the contributions of many family members and fellow genealogists. Having not had the joy of knowing my (Colleen Cahoon) cousins until later in life, I sought the assistance of James' eldest daughter of his second marriage, Eileen, to help me with the full names of her siblings.

To that affect, on 14th August 2006, Eileen Annette Cahoon Clark provided me the following:

"(She had started at the top, with her half-brother and half-sister, then listed her full-siblings and then continued with her Sibling Name List, thus: ) ... Hope this helps. We also have a brother, Timothy Lee and a sister, Tonya Marie from Dad & Roselyn's union. ... Let me know if you want more.
Fondly,
Eileen"

Father's Day

Copyright © James Cahoon. All rights reserved.

I want

to thank you for all you taught me and

to forgive you all that you didn't

to praise your fortitude and courage and

to overlook your weakness

to acknowledge your wisdom and

to forget your foolishness

to recall our times of joy and

to dismiss the days of pain

to say these things

because of the many ways

I am your reflection

and because today I saw myself

in the eyes of a little red-haired boy ~ James Cahoon

We all love and miss you dad! BORKLE SNARF.

James died while in residency at the home of Paul and Mary Alice (nee Cahoon; James' daughter) Wojciechowski, where he had gone to visit. The visit turned into several years of residency. Having died out of state, from his childhood rearings of both, Massachusetts and Vermont, as well as away from the regions that the bulk of his adult life had been in Michigan, the family decided it would be best to have James cremated, so that arrangements could be made for his family to gather in Vermont, on what would have been his 75th birthday, 9th of June, 1999, to lay him to rest beside his father, Louis Albert Cahoon Sr., and stepmother, Jessie Smith Young (nee Stewart) Cahoon.

It was a lovely memorial, with his children flocking home from all across America. Bagpipes played homage, from the hill. Throughout the day and into the evening, beloved memories were shared, respectful and loving toasts were made with the Tears of Scotland, a Fine Whiskey presented for the occassion, by his namesake son, James Jr., whom also presented his father with a very special memorial rose, as his father so dearly loved the roses.

The Victory Hill Cemetery is like so many in New England, right next to a school. In this case, the school is a one-room affair that James and his siblings attended, when living on their father's farm, prior to attending the prestigious St. Johnsbury Academy, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont.

In one of James' paternal-grandmother Martha Haley's letters, she mentioned that her son, (his father) Louis, drove the sleigh in winter, one hour each way, to get the children to school! I am not sure if this trek refers to the Victory Hill School or the St. Johnsbury Academy, but those were the days, my friends... :)

Rest in peace, Uncle Jim ~ I am so glad that I had the chance to meet you, not once, but twice. Respectfully, niece Colleen Cahoon.

Special Thanks to Jim Jr. for having shared the above poem with me, several years ago, and to Linda, Eileen, Connie and Mary Alice, for contributing to the notes above. Thank you all, very much.