PORTER- James Hansen Day, 20, gained his angel wings on August 20th, 2018 with his mother, father, and aunt at his side. James’ final days were spent surrounded by family and friends that James had touched in some way throughout his short, yet very memorable, life.
James was born on May 29th, 1998 at Goodall Hospital in Sanford, Maine and lived in Porter for his entire life. James is going to be sorely missed by and was the beloved son of Valerie Hansen Day and James Alan Day of Porter; beloved grandson of Timothy C. and Anna Hansen of South Cornish, and Richard E. and Denise Day of Porter; beloved nephew of Julie and Dana Shea of Hiram, Tammie Hansen of Parsonsfield, Scott C. and Stacey Day of Porter, and the late Timothy B. Hansen of Hiram; beloved cousin of, and was like a brother to D.J. Shea and William Shea of Hiram; beloved cousin of Brian Hansen of Parsonsfield, Callie Day Dube and her husband, Justin, of Gorham, and Inez Day of Porter. James is also going to be missed by his Labradoodle, Yankee; the other family dog, Brenna; Carol Leavitt of Porter, who James called his “adopted grandmother”; and a very large community of extended family and friends, from all walks of life.
James graduated from Sacopee Valley High School in 2016. He was studying Bio-Medical Engineering at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston before being forced to take a medical leave of absence.
James gave almost 13 years of his life to Boy Scouts of America. He started as a Tiger Cub in kindergarten and concluded his Scouting career when he became an Eagle Scout on July 7, 2016. His Eagle Scout Project was one of the largest projects ever done in the Casco Bay District. The project was to buy the sign that now sits out in front of Sacopee Valley High School. To pay for the sign, James sold personalized bricks to his family, friends, and community and then created the brick walkway that goes from the flagpole to the sign. He gave up the April vacation of his senior year to work with family and friends to put the new sign in place and to lay the bricks, one by one, with his own hands.
James’ gentle and contagious smile brought so much joy to all that knew him. He gave us all courage and hope and reminded us just how precious life is. He tried to instill in others a zest for life, a commitment to family and friends, and the power of a smile. James had the attitude, “if I can, you can, too”. He was an inspiration to others and didn’t even know it sometimes. The way that James persevered and continuously fought his fight with that smile of his, inspired his family and friends. He had a way about him that made you want to be a better person.
James had a great sense of humor - he could make you smile and laugh, no matter what was happening. He lit up the room whenever he walked in. From the time that he was really little to his last days, he would say to his loved ones, “you look like you need a hug” and give you one. James gave the BEST hugs - the kind of hug where he squeezed you real tight and lifted you off the ground at times. He was so sensitive and caring to others - he had the gift of knowing what to say and what to do to help make one feel better.
James had an uncle that didn’t graduate from high school and he was pretty sensitive about this. When James graduated he put two pictures of his uncle in his pocket so that his uncle would know what it was like to walk across the graduation stage. James didn’t tell anyone he did this until afterwards. It was simply James’ nature to be this thoughtful and considerate every day of his life.
One of James’ quirky habits was that he was a procrastinator. VERY badly. While going through his first and only semester of college, he learned this wasn’t going to work as well as it did in high school and he learned what an all-nighter was, a few times.
James had always wanted to be a soldier in the U.S. Army, but he wanted a college education, too. During high school he was part of the JROTC, all four years. He applied for an ROTC scholarship - thousands of applicants for just a handful of scholarships. The scholarship process took many, many hours and was so very rigorous for him to complete. James worked extremely hard on it and he was awarded an ROTC, three year scholarship (he was to pay for the first year, the Army would pay for the other three years). He was over the moon with excitement to think that two of his dreams were coming true - graduating from college and being a soldier. The scholarship was revoked due to medical reasons.
James loved the outdoors - hunting, fishing, camping, kayaking, riding back roads/going mudding with his Jeep. He also loved Legos. Lego Technic kits were his favorite and taking them apart to create his own from scratch was a challenge that he loved taking on. But most of all, James loved his family and loved spending time with them.
James completed the Junior Maine Guides program at Bryant Pond in 2016. He spent 30 days in the outdoors with fellow campers learning about the outdoors, learning how to survive, learning teamwork, and learning how to live in the Maine outdoors. He passed the rigorous JMG exam on his first attempt and was so proud of himself and the entire group. The JMG experience was the best experience of his life - James talked about it and the friends that he made on a daily basis.
We were blessed to learn many valuable lessons from James during his 20 short years with us: never throw anything away (James kept EVERYTHING - receipts, wrappers, bread ties, etc…); let your dog share your bed (his Labradoodle either slept on the bottom bunk with him or she slept on bottom while he slept on top); have a patriotic heart and be proud of it (James stood whenever he heard our National Anthem and he believed everyone else should stand, too); thank a Veteran for their service every chance you get (no matter where he was and no matter what he was doing he thanked Veterans as soon as he realized they were a veteran); never let someone sit alone at a lunch table (James was the kid that would choose sitting with someone sitting by themselves vs. sitting at a table full of his friends); never say mean things (crumple up a piece of paper and try to smooth it out - no matter how hard you try you can’t smooth it completely - this is what happens when you say mean words - James used this as a Tip of The Day at a summer camp for kids that he volunteered at); always offer to help others (James was always saying “Is there anything I can do to help?” - right up through his last days he was asking); look for the good in EVERY situation (James looked for the good in everything that was dealt to him and he ALWAYS found something positive); music is medicine and James was passionate about listening to music every single day (James had a lot of time on his hands so he turned to music, all kinds, to help him get through the days - he was always asking “Have you heard this song?” and gladly played each new find followed by a discussion about what each song reminded him of); take time to play with little kids (James wasn’t shy about getting down on the floor to play with little ones at their level); and never take a single day for granted (James filled his life with as much as he could possibly fit into it).
Because spending time with family meant so much to James, James’ family is asking you to spend some time with your family today, in honor of him. This is what James would wish for you.
Visiting hours for James will be on Friday, August 31, 2018 from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the Poitras, Neal & York Funeral Home located at 71 Maple Street in Cornish. There will be a Celebration of James’ Life on Saturday, September 1, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. at Sacopee Valley High School located at 115 South Hiram Road in Hiram. A burial will immediately follow at Stanley Cemetery in Hiram. Online condolence messages can be submitted at: www.mainefuneral.com.
Instead of flowers, please make a donation to:
The James Hansen Day Git R Done Scholarship
c/o Bangor Savings Bank
180 Maple Street
Cornish, ME 04020
“Don’t cry because it’s over....
Smile because it happened....”