Published in the May 7, 2020 edition.
WAKEFIELD — James “Jim” Longo, 100, died after a brief illness with COVID-19 and failing health at the Masconomet Healthcare Center in Topsfield.
Jim is survived by Jean Longo Anderson of Wakefield, Francis Ginty of Nev., Susan Bayek of N.H., Patti Gauron of N.H., Joan Caggiano of Calif., John Cicciarella of Mich. and Joseph Trozzo of N.J. He was preceded in death by his wife Theresa and his siblings; Samuel, Thomas, Michael, Joseph, May, and Josephine.
After graduating from Bloomfield High School in Bloomfield, N.J., Jim was drafted into World War II and spent the majority of his wartime at stations in Cherbourg and LeHavre, France as a U.S. Army Sergeant in Communications. One of Jim’s most memorable wartime moments was when he saw his brother Joe for the first time in 20 months when Joe’s ship came into port in France. They spent two hours together before Joe was transferred again to the front lines.
Prior to leaving the states for war, Jim was stationed at Camp Curtis Guild in Reading. Camp Curtis Guild would have Friday night gatherings for the troops and the local girls from Reading and Wakefield would go to meet guys and dance.
There was a certain dance where the girls would form a circle facing each other, and the guys would form a circle around their circle but facing outwards towards the wall, so they would be back to back. The music would start and the men and women would go in different directions, clockwise and counter-clockwise. When the music stopped, the men would turn around and dance with the partner they were facing. Well, Jim was facing his future wife Teresa. Jim asked Theresa for her contact information and called her the next day.
In September of 1944, Jim was still at war in Europe, but his brother Joe was back in the states. Joe decided he wanted to visit his brother’s future in-laws in Wakefield and took a train from where their family was living in New Jersey to Wakefield. When he arrived in Wakefield, he met Theresa’s sister Connie, who he would eventually marry. Two brothers from New Jersey married two sisters from Wakefield.
The couples shared a duplex in Wakefield at 25/27 Salem St. for many years before buying their own homes.
Until retirement, Jim worked as a purchasing agent at MIT’s Charles Stark Draper Labs in Bedford and Cambridge. Jim enjoyed his work and was trusted with higher levels of government security clearances. Some of his projects included work on the Apollo space mission and man’s first landing on the moon in 1969.
In retirement, Jim and his wife Theresa were avid travelers. Some of their travel highlights included Hawaii, England, Wales, Scotland, Paris, and many trips to Italy and Sicily. Jim was a photography enthusiast who always had a camera in hand and enjoyed all the latest camera technology and lenses.
In addition to travel, Jim took pride in his landscaping and lawn maintenance. When he retired from Draper Labs, the company had a character artist render an illustration of him with a suitcase for travel and hedge clippers for the perfect row of hedges he maintained around the perimeter of his home.
Arrangements are under the direction of McDonald Funeral Home in Wakefield. Services are private. Please refer to www.mcdonaldfs.com for the guestbook and to leave messages for the family.
