After a nearly seven-year battle with cancer, James Ramon Partridge (53) passed at home in Newton, MA on June 1, 2023, with his family around him. He made sure of that. The hospice nurse visited late in the evening of May 31 and shared that Jim's time was short. A few hours later, while most of the house was asleep, the smoke alarms went off with no apparent explanation. There was no smoke anywhere. It was Jim. He woke everyone up to be with him one last time.

Smoke alarm or no smoke alarm, you couldn't miss when Jim was in the room. The oldest child of Beatrice Ann Ramon Partridge (1943-1998) and Thomas Patrick Partridge, Jr. (1939-2020), Jim was born in New Haven, CT on April 28, 1970. He was the leader of adventures with his brother, Bill (San Mateo, CA), and sister, Charlotte, (Wallingford, CT) while growing up in Clinton, CT. He had a knack for creating games that ended in things being broken and someone getting in trouble, and a knack for not being that someone. Picture obstacle course races in the driveway with wheelbarrows as the vehicles and clay flowerpots as the obstacles. Or, playing store with Jim as the customer who always asked for change after making a purchase until his storeowner siblings went bankrupt.

Jim grew to his full adult height by the time he was 14 so he also physically stood out. That height aided him in (very) brief football and track and field careers at The Morgan School. However, he loved basketball most and often referenced his high school Shoreline Championship team. He made lifelong friends from basketball and their stories have become lore to Jim's kids.

Jim's aspirations to become an engineer faded quickly after his infamous performance in high school physics, highlighted by his Yogi Berra score on an exam (8/100). He entered Seton Hall University in the fall of 1988 and focused most of his energy on school, saving some to play basketball at the rec center, follow the National Championship men's basketball team, and his usual joking around with his dorm friends. Jim's hard work and his parents' support made it possible for him to transfer to Notre Dame the following year.

Notre Dame was a special place for Jim. Beyond his signature pranks like using a mailbox key to start university delivery vehicles for rides around campus to placing steel parking barrier poles in his unsuspecting friends' beds, he met more lifelong friends including his future wife, Jennie McGarry. Jim graduate in 1992 and began his banking career in Columbus, Ohio. Jim and Jennie were married at Kenyon College in Gambier, OH in 1995.

Family was the center of Jim's life. It was particularly difficult for him when his mother passed away in 1998 after a short illness at the age of 54. His desire to be closer to his family led to a move to Connecticut in 2001 following the birth of Jim and Jennie's oldest son, Declan. Riley (2003), Liam (2005) and Kellen (2007) were all born in Connecticut and were able to develop relationships with Jim's dad, Tom, his grandmother, Charlotte Ramon (1914-2006), his uncle, Peter Ramon (Branford, CT), and his god mother, Madalyn Caputo (Wallingford, CT). That meant a lot to Jim. Jim worked for several banks throughout the state and eventually was re-hired by his original employer, National City, to start a Boston office. In 2008, when the commute to Boston became too much, Jim, Jennie, and the kids re-located to Newton, MA. Jim went on to work for Eastern Bank and, most recently, Capital One.

Jim's time was focused on work and family. He supported his kids in all that they did including being a religious education teacher at Our Lady's Parish. When the pastor came to visit during the time Jim was in home hospice care, Jim's kids told the Father Dan about Jim's teaching methods to engage grade schoolers. This included the time that Jim dressed up in full costume to make an appearance as God so that the students could ask questions about the things they brought up in class. Father Dan said he appreciated the unique opportunity to anoint God. Not his usual home visit for sure. Jim also coached lacrosse and was a regular at the gyms and ice rinks for all the kids' games over the years.

Maybe it was all of those freezing cold ice rinks that contributed to Jim's evolving sense of style, or just a continuation of his never entering a room without people noticing him. His red puffer jacket became an identifying feature for years. He added red fleece pants one day and Red Wednesday was born. Throw in a Red Sox bucket hat, and any of several bright pairs of shoes, and you always knew when Jim arrived. He also became owner of countless Halloween costumes, including an inflatable T-Rex that he brought out for more than just Halloween, and ugly Christmas sweaters that he wore with pride each year.

Jim also took great pride in dedicating himself to his health. Never a big runner, he was inspired by his friend Kip's Boston Marathon efforts to benefit Family Aid Boston. When given the opportunity in 2013, Jim ran. Not only was that the beginning of a long relationship with Family Aid, but also marked Jim's commitment to his health. Jim participated in countless Spartan races, and other obstacle races, as well as road races, and his second Marathon in NYC in 2016. Jim's NYC Marathon was bittersweet as it coincided with his cancer diagnosis. While more marathons were not in his future as a result, he found a new outlet in boxing. In 2019, he earned his amateur boxing license. As always, Jim made friends everywhere he went and in everything he did. His running, obstacle race, and boxing friends became inspirations for him to fight. In turn, he became an inspiration to them with how he fought. When Jim's cancer eventually made it impossible for him to exercise as he used to, he put on his re puffer jacket, some pajama pants, colorful shoes, a bucket hat and walked the neighborhood alongside Jennie or one of the kids, and their dog, Tommy. When Jennie's sister, Maggie (McGarry), partner Nahid (Abunama Elgadi) and their dog, Ziggy, moved to Massachusetts from California, in 2021 Jim found an additional audience for his jokes, musical taste, and more company for walks.

Jim met the challenges his cancer threw at him and fought hard. No matter what, he never believed that cancer would win. He found the joy in each day and encouraged us all to do the same. He taught us all to keep fighting. We know he will always be with us. Every time we face something seemingly insurmountable.

Beyond those mentioned previously, Jim is also survived by his aunt and uncle, Christine Partridge Polio and Henry Polio and cousin Patrick Polio (Redding, CT), mother-in-law Sheila McGarry (Fort Wayne, IN), brothers-in-law, Francis McGarry (Cleveland, OH) and Sean Bruening (Fort Wayne, IN) and sisters-in law Yumika Kojima Partridge (San Mateo, CA) and Richelle Hootman Bruening (Fort Wayne, IN). Jim was an uncle to Kira Kojima Partridge, Sam Bruening, TJ McGarry, and Sadie, Hadley, and Delaney Biddle Bruening.

We are planning to celebrate Jim's life on September 9 in Boston Celebration of Jim Partridge's Life and with a funeral mass at Notre Dame on October 6 Funeral Mass for Jim Partridge .
The mass will be livestreamed at https://basilica.nd.edu/sacraments/funerals/funerals-livestream/

Please consider showing your love and support for Jim through the organizations that mean
the most to him and his family.

Family Aid Boston - https://familyaidboston.org/
Pan Mass Challenge - https://donate.pmc.org
Declan's rider ID - DM0653
Riley's rider ID - RM0495
Jennie's rider ID - JM0958