James Dolan

James "Jimmy" Dolan of Seymour died peacefully, surrounded by his family, on Sunday, February 23, 2014 at the Veterans Administration Health Center in West Haven, CT. Born July 6, 1936 at Bridgeport Hospital to the late James A. and Eunice Yarosh Dolan, both of Seymour, Jimmy was also predeceased by sister, Judith Dolan Giaimo. He is survived by sons, Teddy (Yolanda) Windham of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, and Christopher (Sarah) Dolan of New York, NY, daughters Cara Dolan Berry of Seymour and Kelly Dolan of Seymour, brother, Robert (Cheryl) Dolan of La Quinta, CA, sisters Kathleen (Thomas) Corso of Grants Pass, OR, and Nancy (Paul) Vitarelli of Waterbury, grandsons Shawn, Franklin and Matthew, granddaughters Nancy, Catherine, Eva and Anna, great-grandson Cole, former wife, Susanne Hanley Dolan, nephews Jeffrey, Brian, and Robert, nieces Nancy, Kim, Lisa, Laurie, and Lia, and great nephew Dennis, as well as many more great nieces and nephews, cousins and friends. Jimmy attended Maple Street School in Seymour and spent two years at Notre Dame High School of West Haven before graduating from Seymour High School in 1954. He proudly enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1954 during the Korean War, and was honorably discharged in 1958. Jimmy worked for family businesses as a young man before making a career in sales. While he spent most of his life in Seymour, he most recently resided in Hollywood, FL for almost 25 years before returning to his home town in July of 2013. A passion for traveling and a former truck driver, he was proud to have visited every one of the United States but Alaska. He was also an avid fisherman and boater, which informed his lifelong love of the ocean. On his behalf, the family would like to express heartfelt gratitude to the doctors, nurses and staff on the VA's "4th Floor West" for the care, compassion and companionship they afforded him during his final days. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 22, at 11:00 A.M. at the Miller-Ward Funeral Home, 260 Bank Street, (Rt. 67, opposite Klarides Village),Seymour, CT 06483 with a private interment to follow. Military Honors will be accorded at the funeral home. Visitation will be held Saturday, March 22, 2014 at the funeral home from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jimmy's memory can be made to the Seymour Land Trust, Inc. attn Frank Conroy, PO Box 366, Seymour CT 06483, to support the catch and release trout fishing and annual youth fishing rodeo at the town's historic Legion Pool, where Jimmy fished and worked as a lifeguard in his youth. "To believe life ends at death is to believe the ocean ends at the horizon." -unknown.