Nolan, James Joseph “Jim” Ed.D. Age 81, longtime resident of Dedham, MA, passed away peacefully on April 1, 2021. Beloved husband of Diane (Persson) Nolan for 55 years. Loving and devoted father of Susan Nolan and her husband Ivan Bojanic of Jersey City, NJ, James Nolan and his wife Colette (Gaudet) Nolan of Wellesley, Kathleen (Nolan) Hanna and her husband Jeffrey Hanna of Westwood, NJ, David Nolan and his wife Kelli (Keough) Nolan of Medfield and Michael Nolan of Waltham. Son of the late James and Margaret Nolan. Brother to Margaret (Nolan) Pendergast, William Nolan and the late Charles Nolan. Proud grandfather to Liam and Nolan Hanna and James, Zachary, Margaret, Victoria, Harry, Samuel, Abigail and Emmet Nolan.
Jim was a graduate of Cambridge Latin, the College of the Holy Cross, Boston College – Carroll School of Management and UMass Amherst College of Education. Jim was a Vietnam War Veteran, US Navy. He served on the USS Canberra which participated in the Cuban Missile Crisis naval blockade in 1962.
From teacher to superintendent, Jim was a passionate public educator with dedicated service to the Hull, Wareham and Norwood public schools systems throughout his career. Jim was also an impassioned and faithful congregant in the Roman Catholic Church from his youth at St. Paul’s in Cambridge, through Holy Cross and the US Navy, and both St. Mary’s in Dedham and St. Anne in Readville over his 51 years in Dedham.
Jim will be most remembered for his love of family, his humor and his stories, mostly good and often repeated. He will forever be missed and his memory will live eternally in our hearts and minds.
Visiting hours at the George F. Doherty & Sons Funeral Home 456 High Street Dedham, on Tuesday, April 6th from 4-7pm. Funeral from the funeral home on Wednesday, April 7th at 8am, followed by a Funeral Mass at St. Susanna Church, Dedham, at 9am. Relatives and friends kindly invited. Please follow all COVID guidelines. Jim will be interred at St. Joseph Cemetery in West Roxbury, MA. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy can be made in Jim’s memory to the American Heart Association at heart.org or 300 5th Ave, Waltham, MA 02451.