James John "Jim" Malone

Niantic - James John "Jim" Malone, 82, of Niantic, Conn. and Venice, Fla. passed away Sunday morning, Jan. 25, 2026, in Florida. Jim was the son of the late Robert D. Malone and Helen Colwick Malone. He leaves his wife and best friend of 58 years, Joan Malone.

Jim also leaves three children, Kevin Malone (Deb) of Sarasota, Fla., Katie Malone Smith (David) of Ipswich, Mass., and Kimberly Malone Thompson (Job) of Avon. He also leaves four cherished grandchildren, who brought him great joy, Noah and Ashley Smith and Haylie and Jessica Thompson. He is also survived by a sister, Sharon Malone Schlosser (Joe) of Farmington, and many cousins.

Jim was born and raised in New Britain, and was a graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas High School where he was tri-captain of the basketball team. Jim attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute where he was Phi Kappa Theta. He transferred to Central Connecticut State College (now University) and earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in mathematics and physics. Jim taught math at Newington High School and then returned to CCSU starting as assistant registrar. He enjoyed a three-decade leadership career at CCSU and CSU. During development of the Connecticut State University system, Jim worked concurrently with the system's leadership to shape the new organization and then served as its ?rst director of Information Systems where he led the Telecommunication Infrastructure project. Jim returned to CCSU and was appointed associate dean of Financial Systems prior to his eventual retirement. Jim's additional endeavors included performing as class advisor and on the team establishing the Connecticut Library Network. While at CCSU, Jim was active with the creation of AFSCME SUOAF Local-2836 as a founding member and past chapter president.

In his retirement Jim was a longtime Board member for the Connecticut Breast Health Initiative. As a part of that role, he guided their technology and web functions, including the design and set up of technology for the annual Race in the Park.

An avid private pilot for over 40 years, Jim enjoyed ?ying family and friends in his four-seater on various excursions along the Eastern seaboard, especially Nantucket and the Caribbean Islands. Jim treasured his annual trip to the Oshkosh Air Show where he met many famed pilots and astronauts including Neil Armstrong. His pinnacle adventure was partnering with a friend to plan and ?y a transatlantic trip from Connecticut via Iceland to Greece aboard a Cessna 172.

Jim learned the skills of carpentry from this father-in-law and designed and built two homes for his family, the ?rst in Avon and the second, a post and beam design, at Giants Neck Beach in Niantic. The Niantic home was featured in The Day newspaper.

Jim was a lifelong New York Yankees fan and an enthusiastic UConn Women's basketball fan. As his children were growing up, Jim coached many of their sports teams in Avon.

Throughout his life Jim was a dedicated husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin and friend. His family is planning a Celebration of Life event for early summer in Connecticut. Memorial contributions to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or a charity of choice are welcomed.