James “Jim” William Willett
ST. ALBANS: James William Willett, a lifelong area resident and longtime area law enforcement officer passed away Friday evening, March 13, 2020, at his home surrounded by his family.
Born in St. Albans on December 11, 1936, he was the son of the late Alfred and Margaret (Moore) Willett. Jim was 83 years old.
On June 5, 1965, in St. Mary’s Church, he married Nancy Hojaboom, who predeceased him on December 7, 2018.
Jim was a 1955 graduate of St. Mary’s High School and then served as a law enforcement officer for 30 years, having served with the St. Albans City Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Albans Correctional Facility.
Jim also served the City of St. Albans in Montpelier for 10 years as a State Representative, was a season ticket holder for the Vermont Lake Monsters baseball season, was a car and motorcycle collector, a member and past president of the Vermont Automobile Enthusiast Club, the Indian Motorcycle Club, the Studebaker Drivers Club and Tr-Spokes Chapter of SDC.
Jim and Nancy loved to travel and were owners and operators of Willett Striping and were well known for their work in Franklin and Chittenden Counties.
Survivors include his three daughters, Becky Lamos and husband, Steven, of Georgia; Terry Ashline, and husband, Todd, of Fairfax and Wendy Trainer and husband, Bobby, of Alburgh, as well as his grandchildren, Aryn Lamos (Omar), Devyn Lamos (Ethan Newton) and her daughter, Kieran, Shawn Lamos, Eric Lamos, Benjamin Ashline (Sandra Groening), Nicholas Ashline, Savannah Trainer and her daughter, Scarlett and Anders Trainer. He is also survived by a nephew, Brian Willett and his partner, Susan Bushey, Brian’s son, Zachary and a cousin, Sister Marie Suzanne Moore, MM.
In addition to his parents and wife, Nancy, Jim was predeceased by his brother, Howard Willett and his wife, Josephine.
A special thank you to the Hospice Program of Franklin County Home Health Agency, especially Sheree Martell, and the Medical Office of Chris Vaughn, NP. Thank you to Donna Gould, Dave Knightes and Rusty Burnor for their care and support.
Due to the circumstances surrounding our country, Jim’s family has decided to do a private funeral service at the Heald Funeral Home. Interment will be in the family lot in Holy Cross Cemetery.
With Jim being an avid baseball fan, his family has asked that memorial contributions go to the St. Albans Little League, Attn: Chris Goulet, P.O. Box 104, St. Albans, Vermont 05478.
To send the Willett family a message of condolence or share a memory, kindly go to Jim’s online guestbook at www.healdfuneralhome.com.
