SEDGWICK – James R. L. Holdsworth Sr., 83, departed this life during the afternoon of Sept. 14, 2006, at Parker Ridge, Blue Hill, from cancer. “Sunny Jim,” as his mother called him, was born in 1922, in Stoughton, Mass., the youngest of four children. For the past 20 years, Jim and his wife, Liza, were residents of Sedgwick. Jim was an active member of St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church and served as senior warden for many years. He also served as a member of the development board of Blue Hill Memorial Hospital and was an avid member of the Lunch Bunch and of the Blue Hill Golf Club. Jim’s professional career was in trade association and corporate advertising and public relations. He was the advertising manager for the American Council of Life Insurance, Washington, D.C., from 1977 until his retirement in 1987. Previously, he was the manager of communications and consumer market development for the Copper Development Association Inc., New York City; vice president and copy chief for MacDonald, Devy & Holdsworth Advertising Inc., Schenectady, N.Y.; and he held several positions at the General Electric Co., Schenectady, N.Y., from 1948 to 1962. He grew up in Amherst, Mass., where his father was a professor of forestry and wildlife management at the University of Massachusetts. In Amherst, Mass., he met Elizabeth Walsh, the love of his life. Jim was a graduate of Franklin & Marshall Academy – Pennsylvania, proudly served as a staff sergeant in the First Allied Airborne in the European theatre during World War ll, and he earned his Bachelors of art in fine arts/english from Amherst College, 1948. Jim was a man of great integrity, generosity and humor; a true gentleman. He was a beloved husband, father and grandfather who will be greatly missed. He was predeceased by a brother, Robert P. Holdsworth Jr. of Columbus, Ohio, and he is survived by his childhood sweetheart, and wife of 60 years, Elizabeth W. Holdsworth of Blue Hill; his sister, Mary V. Holdsworth of New York City; and his brother, William C. Holdsworth of Zephyrhills, Fla. He is also survived by two sons and their wives, Thomas and Darlene Holdsworth of Herndon, Va., and James and Diana Holdsworth, Norwalk, Conn.; and a daughter and her husband, Elizabeth and Richard Malaby of Hancock; and five grandchildren, Katherine and John Holdsworth and Richard, William and Megan Malaby. A celebration of Jim’s life will be held 2 p.m Saturday, Oct. 14, at St. Francis by the Sea Episcopal Church, Blue Hill. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the St. Francis Building and Grounds fund or to the charity of one’s choice. The family wishes to extend special thanks to the staff of Parker Ridge and to the caring volunteers of Hancock County Homecare & Hospice.
JAMES R. L. HOLDSWORTH SR.
