MONMOUTH – James L. Paradis, 99, of Cressey Road, died Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020 at Togus Springs, the VA hospice in Augusta. He was born in Norridgewock on Feb. 16, 1920, the son of Lesime and Zetella (Fairfield) Paradis.

James attended school in Fort Kent. Enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1939, his first tour of duty as an Army Medic was at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Surviving the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he volunteered for pilot training in the Army Air Corps. Gaining his pilot’s wings, he later became a stateside B-17 Instructor Pilot. Transferring to the 58th Bomb Wing at Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, he flew B-29 missions over Japan until the end of the war. After the war, he became a Command and Test Pilot in the B-36’s. He retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Major, and then worked as an FAA Air Traffic Controller in Nashua, NH for 15 years.

James was a founding member of the Winthrop Hot Meal Kitchen in Winthrop and a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Monmouth Lions Club. He also was a volunteer for Meals-On-Wheels and for American Red Cross Blood Drives. He and his wife Rita enjoyed traveling throughout the U.S., Canada and up to Alaska with their camper.

He was predeceased by his wife Rita in 2006; his son James Jr. in 2014; and two brothers and two sisters.

He is survived by a son Wayne Paradis and his wife Casianna of Monmouth; a brother, O’Neil Paradis of Englewood, Fla.; six grandchildren, Vanessa White and her husband Daniel of Mayflower, Ark., Christina Parish and her husband Bryan of Cypress, Texas, Jamie Lee Paradis of Summerton, S.C., Damian Paradis of Rumford, R.I., Aaron Paradis of Monmouth, and Nicole Hammerstein and her husband Max (1st Lieutenant, USAF) of Oklahoma City, Okla. James is also survived by many great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews and cousins.

Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 21 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m., at Roberts Funeral home, 62 Bowdoin St., Winthrop. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, Jan. 22, at 10 a.m. at St. Francis Xavier Church, Rt. 133, Winthrop. Following the Funeral Mass, he will be buried with military honors at St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Hudson N.H.

Condolences may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the website at www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.com.

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