James Michael Celata was born on October 13, 1957 at Boston City Hospital in Boston Massachusetts, and died on July 25, 2021, in Boston, of covid-19. He was 63 years old. He is greatly mourned and missed by his surviving family: sisters Christine, Diane, Janet, and Kathleen; brother-in-law Jay Marx; sister Janet’s partner Ted Landsmark; nieces Monika Orzechowski and Rayna Levine; nephews Peter Orzechowski, John Oberto, Benjamin Oberto, and Jackson White and their spouses and partner; and loving aunts and uncles: George and Lora Celata, John Celata, Mary Alessandrini, and Lee Iorio; and his many first cousins. He was predeceased by his loving parents, Emil and Audrey Celata.
Jim was special to all who knew him. He was a gentle, shy, curious man with a mischievous sense of humor. He was a notably good man—selfless, kind, and giving. Throughout the difficult parts of his life, and illnesses of recent years, he was patient, never complained, and only sought to be helpful. He was open-minded and open-hearted, interested in everything, and intellectually very active. He loved guitar music and electronics, and was talented with both. From winding 1000-turn coils with extra-fine wire for guitar pickups, to understanding synthesizer use and circuits, to fixing speakers, he enjoyed fixing and improving equipment and musical instruments, and learning. He became a real pleasure to converse with about these hobbies. He was greatly loved.
Jim was raised in Dedham, Massachusetts, on Top Hill Avenue. Being the only boy child and the fourth of five children, he was doted upon by his sisters and grew up with lots of love. His life was full of warm and fun holidays, winter sledding, and summer barbecues with his aunts, uncles, and cousins attending. He spent many happy summers at the family cottage on a lake in NH. He was educated at Dedham public schools and graduated from Dedham High School. After high school he attended the former Lowell Technological Institute for a time, before its merger with Lowell State College. After Lowell, Jim experienced mental illness for several decades and was not able to work. Even during this time he was as described above—a gentle, wonderful person who kept the affection of all who knew him, and lived an independent, quiet life. For the rest of his life his home was an apartment in Foxboro, MA. He composed music for people trying to invent video games, and fixed electronics for free for a while. In his late 40s his mental illness started to clear, until in his late 50s it seemed minimal or gone. But in 2018, he was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Thanks to expertly skilled and very personal and compassionate care at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Boston, and to specialized monoclonal antibodies, he went into full remission. Thereafter Jim had three glorious years of exploring his life after his brush with death. His mind was completely clear. He became an innovative cook, went fishing, walked every day, and worked on his music and electronics hobbies. Jim had had a quiet life but during this time he really enjoyed trips with his sisters to Providence, RI; Pasadena, CA; New York City; and Newport, RI.
In January of 2021, before vaccination was available, Jim contracted covid-19. In February he was hospitalized, and spent five months in various hospitals and care centers with covid and non-covid pneumonia. Again, he moved through his suffering with great grace, cooperation, and gratefulness for the care he received. His sisters were constant advocates for him, and though for most of his illness he was not allowed visitors, he had daily telephone calls from his sisters. The family would like to thank Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, MA and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for their compassionate care of Jim, especially at the end of his life. Jim died on July 25, 2021. It is a time of great pain for his family.
A memorial gathering will be held at a future time when traveling and gathering is not dangerous due to the pandemic. To be notified of the date and time later, when plans for the memorial are made, please so note in the guestbook available at the top of this page.
If desired, donations may be made in Jim’s name to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute at dana-farber.org.