We deeply grieve the passing of James “Jim” Davitt Rooney (56) of Dover, Massachusetts, on September 13, 2023. We remember him as a father who loved his boys ferociously; a beloved and incredibly supportive husband and partner; a friend with a wicked sense of humor and an encyclopedic knowledge of music; and a civic leader focused on improving the lives of those in the community and on the planet. His family and friends will miss his quick wit, sharp intellect, kindness, generosity, and boundless capacity to uplift those near and dear to him.
The son of the late James P. and Marcia G. (Abdalla) Rooney, Jim was born in Springfield and grew up in Palmer, Massachusetts. He graduated from Cathedral High School and earned his bachelor’s from Brown University. He later attended Harvard University, earning a master’s in Public Administration at the Kennedy School of Government.
Throughout his career in nonprofit and policy leadership, Jim worked to build a more competitive, equitable, and sustainable society. He led Community & Government relations at Brown University, helped to launch and lead CEOs for Cities and served as Director of Public Affairs for the Boston Foundation. For ten years, he helmed his own public affairs consultancy, including six years in the UK. Most recently, Jim served as Director of Partnerships at Candid, coordinating campaigns and coalitions to advance transparency and equity in the nonprofit sector. He was particularly proud of co-founding the Community Foundation Climate Collaborative, bringing together community foundations to drive and support climate action.
Alongside these accomplishments, Jim’s second career was political campaigning. There, he followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, who worked on election campaigns for John F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy. Jim worked on political campaigns large and small his entire life, including the Obama-Biden Urban and Regional Policy Council in 2008. He also relished rolling up his sleeves to volunteer his time to local operations. During the 2022 governor’s race, Jim led the Dover Democratic Town Committee’s successful get out the vote effort in support of the Healy campaign.
Jim was an intrepid traveler and eater, a passionate New England sports fan, an eloquent debater, and a proud technology Luddite (aka the last Blackberry user in America). He will be remembered as a masterful storyteller who loved a good pun. He was the consummate host and guide – he loved showing off his “hometowns” with legendary tours of Boston and London. Jim had a gentle smile and magnetic personality that drew people in. Family and friends joked that no matter where you traveled with Jim, he would run into someone he knew.
Jim held many titles in his life, but his favorite roles were that of husband, father, and coach. He is survived by his beloved wife, Tara Levine, and their cherished sons, Joshua and Matthew. Whether it was enthusiastically coaching his boys’ sports teams, ferociously battling them in basketball, or chaperoning outdoor excursions in Maine, Jim lived to create lasting memories for his boys. Jim treasured every opportunity to initiate his sons into Boston’s sports fandom. His gratitude and sense of awe for the beautiful family he built with Tara was unwavering. However, as someone who struggled with depression, Jim was unable to afford himself the kindness and grace that he lovingly provided to others. Heartbreakingly, he lost that battle.
In celebration of Jim’s life, a memorial gathering will be held at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston on September 30th. A remembrance of his life will take place at the Irish Cultural Center in Canton on October 1st. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorial donations be made to the Community Foundation Climate Collaborative of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation (https://give.nhcf.org/JimRooneyMemorialFund) and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (https://afsp.org/ ).