JAMES FRANCIS DALTON

BELFAST and NORTHPORT -James Francis Dalton, 84, died Feb. 22, 2006, in the Hospice Unit at Waldo County General Hospital, after a long illness. He was born in Lowell, Mass., Aug. 8, 1921 and raised in Belfast. He was the son of Peter Paul and Elsie (Little) Dalton. He attended Belfast schools. The survivors owe great thanks to Jim and to the many fine qualities he imparted to all the people whose lives he touched, especially his son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. He had a big heart and a great love for all people. In his early years, James worked for Pratt and Whitney and it was during this time that he met his beloved wife, Norma (Harrington) Dalton who predeceased him. He married a noble woman who had lost her six children and a husband in a horrible fire. Somehow she found the strength to move on and start over again. With Jim she brought one last child into this world. Jim was a member of Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation.” He survived the Great Depression and was a participant in the Civilian Conservation Corps. He was very proud to serve his country and was a veteran of World War II. He served in the 28th (Keystone) Division and saw action in both the European and Pacific theaters. As a young man he experienced the horrors of war, from the beaches of Normandy to the caves of Baggio in the Philippines. He narrowly escaped death on a cold winter night, shortly after the Battle of the Bulge, when a stray artillery shell fell into his foxhole. Oddly, everyone in the foxhole was killed, except for him. Only moments before the explosion, he had been beckoned from the crater by a ghostly female figure. To his dying day he swore this mysterious entity, clothed in a beautiful flowered dress, had been his mother. After the war he discovered that his mother did indeed own such a gown, one which she had purchased after he had left home for the war. Jim was fond of telling stories about his war days and childhood and spending time with his good friends at Tall Pines. He was a devout U. Maine hockey and Red Sox fan who seldom missed a televised game. He beat the odds and lived to see his favorite baseball team win a World Series title. He loved playing with family pets, especially his beloved dog and best friend, Molly the Collie. Jim will be greatly missed by his many friends and family. They will all mark, with a deep sense of loss, his passing. They will always love him up to the sky and down to the ground a thousand times over. Jim is survived by his son, Peter P. Dalton and his wife, Cynthia (Robbins) Dalton, of Northport. Jim is also survived by two granddaughters, Andrea (Dalton) Coulon and her husband, David, of Manchester, N.H. and Laura (Dalton) Benner and her husband, Corey, of Longmont, Colo.; also survived by a sister, Dorothy (Dalton) Shute of Belfast; two nephews, Greg and Kevin Shute and their families; and a brother, Paul Joseph Dalton, his wife, Betty and their children, Cathy and Patrick of Seattle, Wash. Jim “Gramps” is also fondly remembered by his special friend and surrogate, grandson, Patrico Toledo of Quito, Ecuador. Visiting hours will be held 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 23, at the Young Funeral Home, Searsport. A funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Friday, at Young Funeral Home, 31 West Main St., Searsport, with Fr. Joseph Koury, officiating. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Jim’s memory may be made to the Adult Day Program at Tallpines Health Facility, 34 Martin Lane, Belfast, ME 04915.