Beloved father and grandfather James Blair passed from this world on January 24, 2025, after a short illness. He was born in Adams Center, N.Y., the second of five children of Kent Haven Blair and Mary Elizabeth Northrop, and he grew up in various townships in upstate New York.
Jim graduated from Clarkson College and began work at General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y., and later transferred to GE’s Ordnance Systems in Pittsfield, supporting the Fleet Ballistic Missile System program. He was a graduate of the Edison ABC Engineering Program and later became the program administrator. He obtained a master’s degree in systems engineering from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and was a licensed professional engineer for New York State. He also worked for a time at GE in Syracuse, N.Y., working on advanced sonar and submarine system design including the Sea Wolf submarine program.
While working at GE in Pittsfield, Jim met the love of his life Noreen Jenkins of Maine at a skating party on Richmond Pond. They were happily married for 59 years. Sadly, Noreen passed away in April 2024.
Jim was very active in supporting his family in whatever they were doing. He would always help with homework; he was part of the elementary school committee; he was a little league coach and part of the support team for the Bousquet Tri-State ski team. He loved to travel and took the family on many vacations. His love of spending summers on his grandparents’ farm as a kid sparked a farmer bug in him that manifested in big vegetable gardens and raising several beef cattle over the years.
Jim was active right up until the end. In the last year of his life, he downhill skied, kayaked on Stockbridge Bowl and Richmond Pond, rode his bicycle most nice days to the cemetery to visit his wife’s gravesite, and spent a lot of time chopping, stacking, and hauling wood for his wood stove. He missed Noreen terribly in these last months, and his family is so grateful to Jim’s community who reached out in love, support, and friendship to share food and events together, help with wood chopping, lawn mowing, driveway plowing, and all acts of kindness. And they are grateful for their family trip to the Catskills last September where they were able to hike, bike, and enjoy their family time. Jim was so happy to spend time in November with his sisters in upstate New York.
Jim is survived by his three children, Liesl (Todd) Sieger, Shawn (Susan Yavaniski) Blair, and Trent (Erika Volino) Blair; his granddaughter Haven Blair; his three sisters, Barbara Marsh, Alicia (Leonard) Misczuk, and Susan (Jay) Warner; as well as nieces, nephews, cousins, and extended family. His sister Ellen (Gary) Hallet predeceased him.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Samaritan’s Purse, a cause Jim and Noreen gave to their family over the past several Christmases. And Berkshire Medical Center gave compassionate care to Jim in his last days, and their hospital organization accepts donations.
A memorial service will be held at Hope Church, 259 Kemble St., Lenox, MA, on June 13 at 11 a.m. with a luncheon following.
