Laying down the gavel

The Honorable James W. Killam III, laid down his gavel for the last time on February 3, 2018. He was born on May 29, 1932 to Gladys Mae Trevor and J. Warren Killam, Jr. He grew up in Reading, MA with his sister Audrey, where he played on the varsity football team and graduated Salutatorian from Reading Memorial High School with the Class of 1950. During his high school years he achieved the honor of Eagle Scout.

Jim graduated from Yale College in 1954 with a B.A. in Philosophy and a varsity football letter, something that gave him pride throughout his life. He was intellectually exceptional, a student of philosophy, one of only four in the class, a staunch member of the Bull Moose Party in the Yale Political Union and a dedicated member of the Yale Dramat.

Life of service - Judge Killam started early and stayed with it.
After Yale, Jim enlisted in the Army and achieved the rank of Captain. He was an artillery instructor at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Upon returning from the Army, Jim attended Boston University Law School and graduated in 1959. That year he also married his beloved wife, Nancy Ann Maloney, to whom he was married 40 years, until she passed in 1999.

Jim joined his father's legal practice in Melrose in the early 1960s, and they went on to found the Law Offices of Killam and Killam. Jim's connection to Melrose grew exponentially: he was active in Melrose Rotary for more than 55 years, served as president and was decorated as a Paul Harris Fellow; he served on the board of directors of the Melrose Cooperative Bank, and he served on the board of trustees of the Melrose-Wakefield Hospital for close to 40 years through its transition to Hallmark Health. During his tenure, he was a strong proponent of the School of Nursing and worked with his future long-time partner Jane Bain.

Jim was an active member of the Massachusetts, Middlesex and Melrose Bar Associations, and he followed in his father's footsteps by serving as Reading Town Counsel. He also worked for Governor John Volpe.
Jim was appointed to the bench by Governor Frank Sargent. He served proudly as Judge in the Malden District Court and as a visiting justice in courts throughout eastern Massachusetts. After 20 years of service to the bench he retired as First Justice in Malden in 1992.
Masonic life was a very important component of Judge Killam's service. He was a 65 year veteran of Good Samaritan Lodge in Reading, having joined at 21 years old, and served as Master in 2003. Judge Killam was also affiliated with Mt. Olivet Lodge in Cambridge, where he served in the leadership as well. Most recently, the Judge was appointed Grand Representative to Grande Loja do Espirito Santo in Brazil, which afforded him the title of Right Worshipful. Judge Killam was a member of Aleppo Temple Shriners in Wilmington, MA, a member of the Valley of Boston Scottish Rite Masonry, a 50+ year member of Reading Royal Arch Chapter, a 50+ year member of Metro North Commandery No. 20, and a member of St. Bernard's Commandery No. 12. He also was a 33 degree Mason. Judge Killam also served on the board of governors for the Shriners Hospital for Children in Boston through the construction of their exceptional facility.

Jim also enjoyed life. His favorite place to vacation was at the summer house his father built in 1939 (called "Killcare") on the shores of Upper Suncook Lake in Barnstead, NH, where he learned to swim, fish and waterski. The Judge was extremely proud to have been a 50 year member of Meadowbrook Country Club, where he played many rounds of "TNT" golf and where he was recently honored with a lifetime membership and his own "green jacket." He loved participating in Shriners parades and Masonic retreats, Friday luncheons with his friends in the '76 Club of Boston, duck hunting, deep water "blue" fishing off the Cape, Rotary trips to Switzerland, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, and time with his children at scouting events, making Pinewood Derby cars, attending ballet recitals, and freezing at early morning hockey. He was a skilled jack-of-all-trades: electrical, plumbing, auto and appliance repair, and carpentry, and he tried his best to pass those skills off to his children. He welcomed intellectual discussion, and he had an uncanny ability to engage in almost any topic on the table.
Most recently, Judge Killam lived a very social life in the independent senior community of Brooksby Village in Peabody, MA - almost never seen without his signature jacket, tie, suspenders, and nametag. When asked whether he enjoyed his time there, he would reply, "What's not to love?"

On December 23, Jim went into Lahey Medical Center with a terrible cough and unable to swallow. He was transferred to Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital on January 31. During the last month and a half, he continued to share his sense of humor and the twinkle in his eye with those by his side. In the end, his great big heart just decided it was time.

Judge Killam was predeceased by his son Glen Allen, his late wife Nancy Ann Maloney and his subsequent longtime partner Jane Murphy Bain. Judge Killam is survived by his sister Audrey (Killam) Pisarz and her husband Henry Pisarz of Titusville, FL, his children James Trevor Killam and his wife Christine Barnes-Killam of Worcester, Gayle Anne Killam and her husband Scott McEwen of Portland, OR, David Andrew Killam Esq. and his wife Karen Bringola of San Francisco, CA, his niece Winifred Ellen Pisarz and his nephew Warren Stanley Pisarz, and his grandson Brennan Drake McEwen.

Funeral services will be held at 11 am on Saturday, February 17 at the First Congregational Church of Reading, 25 Woburn Street. Visiting hours will be held on Friday, February 16 from 4-8 pm at the Douglass, Edgerley & Bessom Funeral Home, 25 Sanborn Street (corner of Woburn Street). A Masonic Service will be held at the funeral home at 7 pm. Burial with Military Honors is at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Reading.

In Lieu of flowers, donations in James's memory may be made to either the Shriners Burns Hospital of Boston, 51 Blossom St. Boston, MA 02114, https://www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/shc/donate or to the Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, 585 Lebanon St, Melrose, MA 02176, https://www.hallmarkhealth.org/Giving-and-

Reception to follow the funeral service at Bear Hill Country Club 2 North Ave, Stoneham, MA 02180.