JAMES JOSEPH TALBOT Jr.

TALBOT, James Joseph, Jr., of Exeter, NH, died peacefully on Saturday, February 6, 2021, surrounded by his loving daughters. He was 88.

Jim was born in Boston. Orphaned in his teens, he overcame adversity and led a remarkable life, defined at its core by his inner resilience and innate goodness. His strength, humor, and kindness extended beyond his family, touching friends, neighbors, and business associates with countless acts of generosity, both large and small.

Jim's drive for success began early. He excelled at high school sports and was elected president of his senior class at Roslindale High School. He went on to study at Boston College, paying his tuition and expenses through a series of jobs, including hanging signs and helping to build a trestle bridge. He never failed to joke while passing over the Tobin Bridge that he had once risked his life dangling from the rafters to hang a sign on a windy day.

In 1951, Jim took a break from his studies to join the US Navy, serving with distinction as a radio operator during the Korean War. Honorably discharged in 1955 and determined to complete his education, he followed a Navy buddy to the University of Maine. There, he met the love of his life, Mary Mincher. The two married in 1958, beginning an extraordinary partnership that continued until Mary's death in 2015.

In business, Jim's accomplishments were equally distinctive. His work as a salesman and later as a senior executive in specialty chemicals took him from the steel and paper mills of Bethlehem and Buffalo to executive offices and boardrooms in Europe and Asia. He spent his later career living and working in Paris, where he and Mary divided their time between their apartment in the city and their cottage in Normandy-which they returned to every summer after Jim's retirement.

Throughout his life, Jim loved nothing more than helping people and never stopped seeking ways to do so-everything from volunteering in the community to repairing neighbors' cars and appliances. But nothing brought him more fulfillment than being a good father, and at this he truly excelled. His admiration for his wife's intellect inspired in him a passion for women's education and advancement that was truly ahead of his time and had a profound impact on his three daughters, whose studies and careers he supported wholeheartedly.

Jim is survived by his daughters, Elisabeth Talbot McHugh and her husband David of Hingham, MA, Leslie A. Talbot of Barnstable, MA, and Leigh M. Talbot of Alexandria, VA. He also leaves his nephews, William Wickman of Norwood, MA, and Charles Wickman of Southborough, MA, his niece Linda Wickman Anderson of Salem, NH, and numerous great and great-great-nieces and nephews, of whom he was very proud. He was predeceased by his loving sister Marilyn Wickman.

The Talbot family would also like to extend their heartfelt thanks to the nurses and staff at Riverwoods Exeter, as well as to Jim's personal caregivers, for their support over the years, particularly through the pandemic.

A Memorial Service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: The Mary Mincher Talbot Scholarship Fund, University of Maine Foundation, Two Alumni Place, Orono, ME 04469-5792, or to Toys for Tots, a charity Jim supported: www.toysfortots.org/donate/donation-docs/mail-in-donation-form.pdf Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Attn: Gift Processing Administrator, 18251 Quantico Gateway Drive, Triangle, VA 22172-1776.

www.brewittfuneralhome.com