James W. Peghiny, Sr. horologist, flight, history, and train enthusiast, archeologist, and avid learner, passed
away at the age of 95 on December 6, 2021 surrounded by the love of his family, friends, and the admiration of the many people whose lives he touched. Jim was married to Mary Glynn Peghiny for 60 years, until her death in 2011.

Jim was the owner of the Clock and Watch Shop on in Auburndale, which he opened in 1985 after retiring from a career as an electrical engineer. He often said that by opening the shop after retirement he "went from
working 5 days a week to working 6 days a week", something he did until age 94 when the shop closed due to the pandemic. Even before officially opening the shop in 1984 he was repairing timepieces (and lots of other
stuff) for his neighbors and friends. For the next 37 years he and his crew of family members fixed clocks and watches, changed batteries, repaired jewelry, typewriters, doorbells, radios, music boxes, and anything else that needed some TLC. His employees spanned 3 generations of family and included daughter Susan, granddaughters Katie and Lara, grandson Mike, grandson-in-law Eric, son-in-law Ron, great-granddaughter Sierra, and son Jamie (remotely from Maine), Entering the basement the shop was like stepping back in time where you could see antique and vintage timepieces all around the entry and sales area. Some of Jim's clock collection, and various clock parts as well as clocks in testing, lined the walls and shelves. The shop was decidedly low tech - if you left a repair, Jim would hand you a small manilla receipt (which he hand-stamped with the shop's name & address) and your info would be written into a book that recorded years of repairs. Jim never lost a repair, even with this seemingly outdated system. The shop wasn't the fastest repair place, but was renowned for quality, value, cuckoo clock demos for children, affordable new and vintage timepieces, and interesting conversation. There was rarely a day when one of Jim's buddies didn't stop in to chat.

Jim became interested in horology (Google it) in the 1970's when he met Arthur Rowe at a local watch
collectors' event. Arthur was a finisher at the Waltham Watch Company factory in Waltham and knew more
about watchmaking than pretty much anyone else alive. Jim's other mentor was Pat Caruso, a fellow
Newtonian who was also a watchmaker at the factory. Pat shared his knowledge, experience, and friendship
with Jim.

The Waltham Watch Factory was located on Crescent Street in Waltham and is well known for its quality
timepieces. When the factory closed, all of the loose parts were sold to local watchmakers, including the
boxes used by the employees. Jim was one of those lucky watchmakers, so was able to give new life to many a Waltham watch because of this boon. People from as far away as Australia would send their Waltham pieces to Jim for repair. You can see some of his tools at the Charles River Museum of Industry & Innovation in Waltham. He was also one of the few people around who was able to repair electric clocks as well as the perpetual Atmos Clock.

Jim didn't start out to be a watchmaker. At the age of 17 he got his mother to lie about his age so he could join
the Navy. He was a smart kid so was sent to communications training at Navy Pier in Chicago. This was a
huge cultural change from his native Elberton, Georgia (a very small town about an hour northwest of Atlanta)
but he adapted, learned, and remained open to all people throughout his life – not an easy thing at that time for
someone from his background. After basic training, he was sent to Florida to help build the communications
systems on the SS United States (currently docked in Philadelphia) in what he liked to call "The Battle of Fort
Lauderdale".

After the war, Jim went to Georgia Tech on the GI Bill where he earned a degree in Electrical Engineering – a
field that would place him at the forefront of the incredible technological changes that were coming. When a
former co-worker landed him a job at the shipyard in Norfolk, Virginia, it became a move that would change his
life.

One night, a friend set Jim up on a blind date with Mary Glynn – an outgoing and vivacious young woman who
could talk to anyone (even a shy country boy from Elberton, Georgia) and who loved the beach. They would
marry in March of 1952. Their union would last until Mary's death in 2011. Jim and Mary moved to Philadelphia
soon afterwards and eventually the family would follow the jobs to Newton, Massachusetts where they would settle for over 60 years.

Jim initially worked for Remington Rand on the INIAC computer project – a true pioneer in a world-changing
field. He then moved to Acton Labs where he worked on the first hand-held calculator – the Bowmar Brain.
This position was followed by a position DBX, a pioneer in the field of professional sound reduction. He
completed his career as Vice President of Manufacturing at ADE, a company that measured silicon wafers for
the emerging field on computing.

During their years in Newton volunteered to teach children in Roxbury how to do minor appliance repair,
dragged his own kids to local archeological digs from Framingham to Dog Town in Gloucester, was a Boy
Scout Leader (even taking his entire family to Boy Scout Camp several times), helped create and run the Burr
School Halloween Haunted House. He had many hobbies: he built and flew radio-controlled airplanes and
gliders, and even restored a 1929 Ford Model T and a 1958 Bugeye Sprite (British Racing Green, of course).
When he developed a love of photography, he set up a dark room in the basement, and his collection of old
photographs of Auburndale and the surrounding area is extensive. He always had free CD's available in the
shop for anyone who wanted copies.

While horology was one of Jim's lifelong passions – his greatest ones were education and knowledge, and he
was one of the most interesting and knowledgeable people you'd ever meet. Until just before his death he was
learning and exploring. Jim was constantly reading, talking to people, and watching videos and TV and about
trains, flight, horology (Google it!), history, and just about anything else that caught his fancy. We should all be
so inquisitive. Jim was also deeply dedicated to archeology, and at the age of 65 spent two weeks in a teepee
in North Dakoda digging dinosaur bones under the auspices of paleontologist Jack Horner (who is said to be
the inspiration for the character Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park movies). He embraced new technologies
and was one of the first in the family to get an iPhone, was always updating his computer system, had a
Facebook profile, and at the age of 90 bought a brand-new hybrid vehicle.

Jim loved to travel. The family was always driving to Georgia or Virginia to visit family. Then, in 2014 Jim
shared that he'd never seen the Grand Canyon, so he and family members went on a road trip that started in
Boulder, CO and ended in Las Vegas. It included Moab, Monument Valley, Canyon De Chelly, the Grand
Canyon (finally!), the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. His first international trip was at age 89 to attend his
granddaughter Lara's college graduation from the University College Dublin. That same year he traveled to
Rome all alone to meet up with family that was already vacationing there. When he was almost 93 he said he'd
like to see Pompeii – a dream that birthed a 2-week family trip to southern Italy that included the cities and
towns from the Amalfi Coast to Tivoli.

The son of a church organist, Jim developed a love of music early on. He was a member of the Elberton High
School Marching Band and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Marching Band. He played the piano for at least
an hour every night until just a few months before his death and was constantly listening to classical music.
While Jim's career was part of the cornerstones of modern computing, his heart was in his family. He was Big
Jim, Grampa, Grampa Jim or G-Pop Jim to his 7 grandchildren, and Great-Grampa to his 5 great-
grandchildren as well as to the children of cousins, friends, and neighbors. He rode bikes, built sandcastles,
flew kites, caught hermit crabs, played on swing sets, and so much more. He was the grandfather that
everyone wanted to have.

Jim is survived by his son Jamie Peghiny and daughter-in-law Sandi Hammond of New Harbor, ME, daughter
Ellen Joyce and son-in-law Tom Joyce of Southborough, son Tom Peghiny and daughter-in-law Natasha
Shvydka of Mansfield Center, CT, daughter Susan Faccenda Peghiny and son-in-law Ron Faccenda of
Auburndale, MA, his grandchildren Katie Joyce Chapman and her husband Eric, Tom Joyce and his wife
Kristy, Mike Joyce and his wife Katie, Lara Joyce and her husband James Ahern, Jeff Peghiny, Leo Faccenda
and his wife Arielle, and Vova Shvydkyy, great-grandchildren Zack, Ella & Sierra Chapman, Brandon & Emma Joyce, and Collin Faccenda, as well as family and friends in Georgia and Virginia. He was predeceased by his first grandchild, Christopher Joyce, a loss that Jim felt deeply for the rest of his life.

All are welcome to a graveside service at 1:00pm on Saturday, December 11, 2021 at Newton Cemetery. A
celebration of his life will be held in the Spring.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made to the American Cancer Society, the Newton Rotary
Foundation, or the Worcester County Food Bank.