James A Lagro Sr.

James Arthur LaGro Sr. passed away peacefully, at the age of 93, on the morning of December 10, 2024. The family is grateful for the compassionate dementia care that Jim received over the last seven years at the United Methodist Homes Hilltop Campus and Elizabeth Church Manor.

Growing up during the Great Depression, Jim was the eldest of three brothers. While a teen in Toledo, Ohio, he delivered newspapers and worked as a lifeguard. At DeVilbiss high school, he ran track (hurdles) and cross-country all four years, captaining both teams as a senior. He also ran track in his freshman year at the University of Toledo. Yet in 1951, at the age of nineteen, he joined the U.S. Navy and spent his first year in the service training as an electronics technician. He then served a duty tour on the U.S.S. Kula Gulf in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. While at sea, he weathered a hurricane in the Atlantic, repaired navigational and telecommunications equipment high on the ship’s masts, and pulled shore patrol duty in Naples, Italy.

Jim met Louise McNabb in 1952 at a Valentine’s Day dance on the Great Lakes Naval Station. It was love at first sight. They were married four months later in Louise’s hometown of Zion, Illinois. Their first child, Jim Jr., was born at the Naval Center in Great Lakes, Illinois. Their other three children, Ron, Randy, and Karen, were born in Ohio. This past summer, Jim and Louise celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary.

Jim was the first member of his family to graduate from college, returning to the University of Toledo on the GI Bill. He served as President of the Physics Club and earned his degree in Engineering Physics. His career was built in the avionics industry, with stints at Goodyear Aerospace in Akron, Ohio and then at Singer Link in Binghamton, New York. As a program manager for the F-111 flight simulator, he often traveled to Sunnyvale, California and Silver Spring, Maryland. Later in his career, he earned an MBA from SUNY Binghamton and taught there for several years.

With a great jazz album collection – and interests in both the arts and sciences – Jim gave his children the gift of curiosity. The family visited art museums, took memorable camping trips, and enjoyed time together at the Florida seashore. All four children attended Chenango Forks High School where Jim and Louise were avid boosters of Forks athletics, especially the football teams. Louise anchored the household, giving the children emotional support, massages (for strained muscles), and strong values.

Jim enjoyed the outdoors, tending his garden, golfing, bow hunting, and snow skiing. As a young man, he loved to swim and was an accomplished diver, able to nail a two-and-a-half front flip from the high dive. His lifelong hobbies included sculpting and painting (landscapes and portraits). For more than 60 years his oil, pastel, and watercolor paintings became cherished gifts to his extended family and friends.

Jim’s genealogy research took him to Catholic parishes in Quebec, to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and, with his brothers Ralph and Ron, to the diocese of Besançon, a small city in northeastern France. He also went on humanitarian missions to Haiti and to the Navajo Nation in New Mexico with members of the Valley Christian Reformed Church.

Jim and Louise cherished their time with family and friends. After Jim retired, they moved to Phoenix to be closer to Louise’s cousins, brothers, and twin sister Jeanette and her family. During their ten years in Arizona, increasing Alzheimer’s symptoms became a challenge. But his shipboard experience in the Navy came in handy. Once, at a memory care facility in Phoenix, he found the place just too confining. So, Jim climbed a tree, scaled a wall, and headed for home.

Jim is survived by his wife Louise and four children – Jim (Bridget) LaGro Jr., Ron LaGro, Randy (Nina) LaGro, and Karen (Dan) Gates, eight grandchildren, and five great grandchildren. He also is survived by brothers Ralph (Gail) LaGro, Tom (Pat) Fitzgerald, and sister Tina Fitzgerald. His beloved mother Lyda Belle (LaGro) Fitzgerald predeceases Jim, as well as father Arthur and brothers Ronald (Suzie) and Gerry LaGro. A celebration of Jim’s life and legacy will be held next summer. The family will hold a private memorial service before the holidays.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association of Central NY Chapter or the Food Pantry at Valley Christian Reformed Church in Binghamton, NY.