James B. Hayden

James B. Hayden James Brook Hayden, 61, formally of Athol, MA and late of Guilford, CT passed away in his home Tuesday August 16th.  He will be remembered for his varied interests and dedicated friendships garnered over years of extensive travel and a special effort to stay in touch with the people he loved and cared about.     Jim was born June 26, 1950 in Greenfield, MA and raised in Athol graduating from Athol High School and then Franklin Pierce College in 1973 where he was the Co - Captain of their first collegiate hockey team. Being a history major he had an uncanny ability to remember names, dates and places of historical significance.      This served him well in his professional career as a salesman starting in the mid seventies in the sales apprentice program for the L.S. Starrett Co., assigned to the Chicago area.  He advanced to a Senior Sales position with the Carr Division of TRW Corp. serving the upper Midwest territory. Wishing to relocate back to New England, he joined the sales staff of the Superior Electric Co. of Bristol CT and did extensive domestic travel.  A self taught Electrical Engineer, his strength was solving customer problems with the products in his tool bag.  Wanting to work more closely with customers, he later worked with the J. F. Shaw Co., Inc. of Wilmington, MA and the Minarik Distributing Co. of Littleton, MA.      Jim was an Eagle Scout and attended the World Jamboree in Colorado in 1964.  Scouting was an influential part of his youth where he learned leadership and practical skills that served him well throughout his life.  He made lifelong friends at Camp Collier.  His other interests included cooking and everything about Cape Cod.  He was a longtime member of the Petersham Gun Club and Ducks Unlimited.  For many years he participated in the Chapman Cup – an overnight sailboat race around Massachusetts Bay starting and ending in Scituate.      He is survived by his wife Nancy (Nickless) Hayden of Guilford CT and his father James Hayden of Orleans MA. He was predeceased by his mother Janice (Brook) Hayden who he loved dearly. In addition, he leaves his in-laws Richard and Barbara Nickless of Petersham and his Brother in Law David Nickless and his wife Deborah of Fitchburg and their daughter Margaret.  He also leaves his cousin Colleen Hayden of Athol.      A Funeral Mass will be held at Our Lady Immaculate, 192 School Street, Athol on Monday August 22 at 11:00 AM with burial to follow at Gethsemane Cemetery in Athol.      In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Camp Collier c/o the Monadnock Trust, 39 Robillard St., Gardner, MA 01440 or the hockey program at Franklin Pierce College, 40 University Drive, Rindge, NH  03461.      Higgins O’Connor Funeral Home, 146 Main Street, Athol MA is directing arrangements.  For more information or to share a memory with the family go to: www.higginsoconnorfuneralhome.com. $(document).ready(function(){ });