James C. Pullen, Sr.

James Carroll Pullen Sr., 77, of Weymouth, Mass. passed away on January 31.

Born on June 13, 1945 in Chelsea, Mass., Jim was a loving husband to Janet Pullen (née Boushell), a proud father of four and grandfather of eight, and a retired U.S. military veteran.

Jim graduated Malden Catholic High School in 1963 and joined the U.S. Armed Services. He attended flight school at Fort Rutger in Alabama and served in the Massachusetts Army National Guard as a member of Yankee Division and the 26th Aviation Battalion. After 20 years of service, Jim retired from the military, having achieved the rank of Major.

Jim’s professional career spanned an array of jobs over decades. His first was with New England Telephone as an installer in the 1960s before moving on to the Schwinn Bicycle Company, where he worked as a salesman. Jim got his start in rubber and plastics by taking a job at Samuel Moore/Eaton in the 1970s, before striking out on his own to run Rocky Hill, Conn.-based Rock Rubber & Supply. He bought Quincy, Mass.-based Sprague Fluid Connectors in the 1990s and moved the company to Weymouth before retiring in 2012.

Jim’s passion for aviation kept him looking to the sky his entire life. In the National Guard, he loved flying helicopters. He was also a proud member and supporter of the Massachusetts Wing of the Civil Air Patrol. As a civil aviator with the Hanscom Aero Club, he logged hundreds of hours on light aircraft and enjoyed bringing friends and families on flights around the South Shore, Cape, and islands. 

Jim was also well-grounded, living a life dedicated to helping others in ways large, small, and mostly anonymous. But he was vocal about honoring fallen veterans by raising money for Wreaths Across America. He also delivered for Meals on Wheels whenever possible. 

Nothing made Jim happier than being with friends and family, and he was tireless in his efforts to connect with the people he loved. Whether it was treating his grandchildren to a schmagiggle — an ice cream treat he invented — or soaking in the sun with fellow vacationers in Aruba — his happy place — Jim always had a smile.

The rare times Jim was alone, he found joy in the music of Chet Atkins, which he would play on his cherished Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar. A devout Catholic, Jim would say, “Chet Atkins isn’t God. He was God’s guitar teacher.”

Jim is reunited in death with his parents Carroll and Ruth Pullen (née Wheeler) and his beloved sister Joanne all of Malden, MA. In addition to his wife Janet, he is survived by his brothers John, Joseph, and Jeffrey; his children Jill Felton (née Pullen) and her husband Christopher Felton of Mendon, MA, Jim Pullen Jr. and his wife Cari Pullen (née Evers) of Nashua, NH, Julie Leduc (née Pullen) of Rockland, MA, and John Patrick Pullen and his wife Jenni Pullen (née Husen) of Vancouver, WA. Jim’s memory lives on in grandchildren Alexa Leduc, Paige Felton, Kailey Pullen, Cole Felton, Ayla Pullen, Jax Leduc, Jack Henry Pullen, and June Pullen.

Visitation with be Sunday, February 5, 2023 from 2–5 p.m. at McDonald Keohane Funeral Home at 809 Main St. in South Weymouth, with a funeral service on Monday, February 6, 2023 at 11:30 a.m. at St. Francis Xavier Church. Interment will follow at South Weymouth’s Mount Hope Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation, 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306. The Tunnels to Towers Foundation is an organization committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and providing homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families, issues that Jim felt strongly about.