JAMES G. MORISSETTE

OAKLAND -- James G. Morissette, of Oakland, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Sept. 30, 2012, at his home, with his loving wife Ann by his side.

Jim was born in Waterville on Aug. 23,1963, the son of Nancy Adams and James Morissette.

Jim graduated from Winslow High School in 1982. After high school, Jim went to Tulsa Welding School in Tulsa, Okla., where he became licensed as a certified welder.

Jim had a very strong work ethic. From the age of 13 he worked for his grandparents in their family-owned business at Waterville Window Co. in Winslow. After 20 years, he ventured out on his own to open his own business, South Beach Tanning Salon, in Waterville. For the last 10 years, Jim was self employed as an independent sales representative for IKO Roofing working with Leet & Associates. He was well-respected in the industry and admired by many for his strong work ethic and charismatic personality.

Jim is survived by his beloved wife, Ann; daughter Ashley Wrigley and husband, Stefan; his granddaughter, Elizabeth, and her baby sister, soon to arrive, of Oakland; stepdaughter, Kristin Mills, of Oakland; mother Nancy Adams, of Waterville; father, James Morissette and stepmother, Nancy Morissette, of Waterville; two sisters, Robyn Morissette, of Rhode Island, and Jill Mauer, of Florida; one brother, John Morissette; niece Heather, of Maryland; special aunts and uncles, Linda and Jerry King and son, Gary, and family, of Winslow, and Marie and Bill Pulsifer and their daughters, Louise and Ann Marie, of Belgrade Lakes, and Wilena Monroe, of Veazie. He is also survived by a large extended family and many close friends whom he considered his family. He will be greatly missed by all. Jim was predeceased by his grandparents, Basil and Margaret Adams, Richard Gammon, Florence and Wilfred; along with his cousin, Susie King Isbell.

Jim was passionate about outdoor adventure and the adrenaline rush that motorized power sports gave him.

He loved snowmobiling and logged thousands of miles over the years. There were many groups of riders that Jim rode with. Jim enjoyed his many trips with Mike and Don Hammond, Jeff Bourassa, Kristian Suttie and Steve Hardy. "The boys" took many trips throughout Canada over the years.

Jim, Mike and Don took several "trans-Canada" trips which entailed tractor-trailering the sleds to Western Canada, flying out, meeting the sleds and riding them home. Their longest trip originated in Winnipeg, Manitoba and comprised 1,900 miles riding back to home in Maine.

Many special snowmobile memories were made in popular snowmobile destinations in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick such as Thunder Bay, Sault Ste Marie, North Bay, Val-d'Or, Chibougamau, Chicoutimi, Rimouski, the Gaspe peninsula and Perce Rock to name a few. Jim, Mike and Don also took a snowmobile trip to Yellowstone National Park.

Jim took much pride in keeping his sled (and all of his toys) and his workshop in immaculate shape. Jim had an slogan that caused laughs by all pertaining to possible snowmobile trail adversity: "When in trouble, give her double." All was good when receiving a "thumbs-up" by Jim on the trail.

Jim also loved flying float planes. He had his private pilot's license and had logged more than 400 hours of flight time. He was a frequent renter at Twitchell's Sea Plane Base in Turner. Jim flew Ann for their first date to Bethel and Sunday River. Jim and Ann enjoyed many other flights together to Sebago Lake, Sugarloaf and around the Belgrade Lakes area. Jim's brother, John, also was a private pilot, and shared the same love for flying.

Jim also loved NASCAR racing. He attended races annually in Loudon, N.H., with his cousin, Gary King. In August 2011, he attended a race in Bristol, Tenn., with his close friend, Steve Hardy.

The early years after high school were spent on Snow Pond jet skiing with Jim's close friends, Steve Mills, Rick Colford and Jose Joseph. Like everything in Jim's competitive life, back then Jim was competing with his friends for the "deepest submarine" or the "highest submarine" on his stand-up jetski. In recent years Jim became talented in custom ornamental metal fabrication using his plasma cutting machine.

His beautiful works of art are part of the home he created with Ann.

The true loves in his life were his ladies.

His wife of 17 years, Ann, loyally supported him in all of his endeavors and shined with dignity and grace during his final days, making every day count. His precious daughter, Ashley, was a true daddy's girl. She brought him joy beyond words. Her greatest gift to her father was his granddaughter, Elizabeth Grace.

Finally, there is his dog, Blue, his four-legged companion. For the last three years, they were inseparable. Blue visited many lumber yards throughout Maine with his daddy.

A special thanks to Dr. Nicholette Erickson and staff at Central Maine Medical Center, Lewiston, and all the staff of Beth Israel Deaconess center in Boston. Thanks to Oakland Rescue and Delta Ambulance and to his special family at the Early Bird. A special thank-you from Ann to her wonderful circle of friends who supported her and were there for her during her time of need.

A celebration of life for family and friends will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4, at T&B's Celebration Center, 6 Jefferson St., Waterville. His family requests no flowers. Instead, expressions of sympathy may be sent to the memorial fund for Jim's granddaughters, Elizabeth and Baby Sister Wrigley, c/o Ann Morissette 102 East Side Trail, Oakland, 04975.

Arrangement are by Wheeler Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Oakland; www.wheelerfh.com.