HOULTON and FOREST CITY – James Louis Pettit, 86, departed this life on April 2, 2004. He was born July 3, 1917, at New York City, N.Y., the son of William Emery and Mildred Irene (Donnatin) Pettit. Mr. Pettit attended St. John’s College in Brooklyn, N.Y., before joining the Army, where he served as captain during World War II. He married Mildred Elinor Black in 1942. They moved to Forest City at the end of World War II, where they ran a family farm until the 1960’s. Mr. Pettit continued living there until 1994, two years after his wife’s death, at which time he moved to Houlton. He was a resident of Madigan House at the time of his death, where he was affectionately referred to as “Brooklyn.” Mr. Pettit was a very patriotic military enthusiast, a member of several military organizations including the 7th Regiment NYC Loyal Order of Foreign Wars and an avid collector and student of the Civil War. He was also a 32 degree Mason, a member of Mecca Temple in NYC, the CAR and then the Sons of the American Revolution and the Monument Lodge in Houlton. He had a quick wit and was quite a storyteller and an entertainer, with the talent of telling a good joke and making people laugh. He also had artistic talents, including hand lettering signs, operating his hand printing press, cartooning, carpentry, hobbies and crafts. Mr. Pettit is survived by his five children, William Henry Pettit and his wife, Helen, Carol Deane (Pettit) Wildman and her husband, Ed, Margaret (Pettit) Caplow and her husband, Ted, Charlotte Anne (Pettit) Hanna and her husband, James, David George Pettit and his wife, Barbara; three grandchildren, James Pettit and his wife, Valerie, Davis and Chelsey Wildman; one great-grandson, William Pettit; several cousins. Friends may call 6-8 p.m. Monday at the Dunn Funeral Home, where funeral services will be held 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, with the Rev. Jessie Drysdale officiating. Interment will be in the Forest City International Cemetery. Gifts may be made in James L. and Mildred B. Pettit’s memory to the Cary Library, care of the Dunn Funeral Home, 11 Park St., Houlton, ME 04730.