US Army veteran
WAKEFIELD — Doug Iram was born on Sept. 28, 1947 in Winchester to Harry and Dorothy Iram. He was the younger brother by three years to Richard or Rick Iram. Doug grew up in Wakefield, attending Wakefield public schools. For several years he had a newspaper route and he enjoyed being a boy scout. As a teenager, he worked as a “puddle pusher” at the Pleasure Island theme park and he did sound work for Cowboy Rex Trailer. Doug and his brother Rick shared an electronics workshop in the cellar of their home sometimes creating mischief with their projects. In high school he was on the school’s Audio Visual team.
Answering the call of duty, Doug dropped out of Northeastern University after two years and enlisted in the Army. After a year of training, he was sent to Vietnam as a radio operator with the 73rd Signal Battalion. While serving, he was exposed to agent orange which led to significant health issues later in life. He left the army at the rank of Specialist 5. After leaving the army, he completed the requirements for an Associates Degree in photography at Phoenix College but never filed the paperwork to receive the actual degree.
Doug’s passions were electronics, photography, computers, bicycling, camping and hiking. He belonged to two bicycle clubs. He once completed a 100 miles bike ride in a day with Carol and Shawn at the finish line to cheer him on. In Massachusetts, he climbed Mt. Washington, Mt. Monadnock and the flume along with many other trails. In Arizona he hiked in Sedona, Revus Ranch and Thumb Butte.
Doug worked as an electronics technician. His long career included positions at Burrows in Massachusetts and Motorola and General Semiconductor in Arizona, but his heart was always in New England. The family moved back to Massachusetts in 1984 where he worked for Techtronix then Analog Devices. He took a break from electronics to work at REI before moving into computing, first at Egghead Software and then finishing his career at Micro Center.
In retirement he enjoyed traveling to Texas several times to visit Shawn and Judith. On one visit last year, he enjoyed every minute of a day at the Houston Space Center. In retirement, Doug was part of the volunteer Tech Support Team at the Jenks Center where he continued helping people with their computers and electronic gadgets.
Doug is survived by Carol, his wife of 46 years in Woburn; their son Shawn and Shawn’s wife Judith of Texas. He is also survived by his brother Rick of Raymond, NH and nieces Gretchen, Julie, Laura and Heather along with grand nieces and grand nephews.
His funeral service will be held in the McDonald Funeral Home, 19 Yale Ave., Wakefield on Monday, January 13 at 11:30 a.m. Visitation for relatives and friends will be held prior to the service beginning at 10 a.m. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in Doug’s name may be made to the Bedford VA at VA Bedford Healthcare System, CDCE (135), 200 Springs Rd., Bedford, MA 01730. For the online guestbook and directions, please visit mcdonaldfs.com.
