Obituary for James Willard De Remer
James Willard De Remer of Chelmsford, 74, died September 24 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. Beloved husband of Jennifer K. (Ebdon) De Remer with whom he shared 48 years of marriage, loving father of Matthew J. De Remer and his wife, Magdalena of Arlington, MA and David R. De Remer of Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, grandfather of Jacob De Remer and Victoria De Remer of Arlington, MA and brother of Alan R. De Remer and his wife, Barbara Ewing De Remer (deceased) of Crystal River, FL.
Jim was born December 7, 1945 in Kearny, NJ to John W. De Remer and Gertrude E. (Stoddard) De Remer. During his battle with Parkinson’s disease for twenty-two years, Jim displayed great courage and determination to live his best life. Until disease progression prevented it, he loved riding his recumbent tricycle on rail trails and traveling with his family to Arizona, England, Alaska, Brussels and Amsterdam. An avid science fiction reader, he was proud of his contributions to the Apollo moon landing while working at Draper Laboratory. He enjoyed working with tools in his workshop and concocting creative desserts. He often would say, “Recipes are only starting points.” He served in the US Army First Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1966-67. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. He worked for Wang Laboratories as a product manager before starting a sales and marketing consultancy supporting many local businesses. A dedicated father, he was active in Boy Scouts and Chelmsford Youth Soccer. He enthusiastically attended radio-controlled car races, math and computer science competitions with his sons. Family vacations spent camping, biking, sailing and hiking made for cherished memories.
Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Disabled American Veterans, State House, Room 546, Boston, MA 02133 or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163-4777.
Jim was born December 7, 1945 in Kearny, NJ to John W. De Remer and Gertrude E. (Stoddard) De Remer. During his battle with Parkinson’s disease for twenty-two years, Jim displayed great courage and determination to live his best life. Until disease progression prevented it, he loved riding his recumbent tricycle on rail trails and traveling with his family to Arizona, England, Alaska, Brussels and Amsterdam. An avid science fiction reader, he was proud of his contributions to the Apollo moon landing while working at Draper Laboratory. He enjoyed working with tools in his workshop and concocting creative desserts. He often would say, “Recipes are only starting points.” He served in the US Army First Infantry Division in Vietnam in 1966-67. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971 with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. He worked for Wang Laboratories as a product manager before starting a sales and marketing consultancy supporting many local businesses. A dedicated father, he was active in Boy Scouts and Chelmsford Youth Soccer. He enthusiastically attended radio-controlled car races, math and computer science competitions with his sons. Family vacations spent camping, biking, sailing and hiking made for cherished memories.
Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the Disabled American Veterans, State House, Room 546, Boston, MA 02133 or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, Grand Central Station, P.O. Box 4777, New York, NY 10163-4777.