James Edward Kilarkey

James Edward Killarkey was born in Boston Massachusetts to John H. Killackey and Helen Gladyce Day January 13th, 1930. He made his transition to Glory while in theintensive care unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital June 24th, 2022. James was preceded in death by both his parents and his brother John. He is survived by his dear friend and former wife, Priscilla Killarkey. James lived in Boston all of his 92 years and he was educated in the schools of Boston. He had a strong work ethic even having his first job at 5 years old. He worked years after retirement age. James was a Veteran serving in the Army National Guard from 1947 to 1963. James was a licensed alcohol and drug counselor, and he worked in the substance treatment Services for over 50 years. He gave lectures to students on alcohol and drug treatment at Harvard University and UMass mentoring many students and interns. James has received many awards, accolades and Certified Educational Certificates in Substance Abuse Treatment. James was also a longtime friend of Bill's. Whitey, as some of his closest friends and colleagues called him, was a very humble and gracious man despite of al! his accomplishments. He received an honorary degree from Harvard University and he frequented the State House for meetings with government officials about Substance Abuse treatment but you would never hear about it from him. Whitey used to own a Black Monte Carlo Super Sport that he loved to drive hard. lf you ever had the opportunity to get a ride with him, immediately afterwards you would jump out of the car and kiss the ground because you survived. Nevertheless, Whitey always got you to the destination without fail in fact he knew all the short cuts. Whitey would never complain though he lived with multiple medical challenges and he had a very strong will to live his life the way he wanted to. Whitey loved to eat. He was very fond of seafood platters filet mignon and pepperoni pizza and drinking zero sugar Coca-Cola. One of the many special things about Whitey is that he enjoyed sending everyone he knew greeting cards on all of the holidays, he donated money to several charities and he was very spiritual man who prayed for others every night (he had a Prayer List.) When you look into Whitey's steely blue eyes you saw a very kind face, with well-earned wisdom and his white hair glowed like a bright spiritual flame. He was most definitely an Angel Man! A Memorial will be planned for James at a later date.