Jimmy Charron

May 29, 1955 – March 21, 2019

The firehouse was draped in black, the Stars and Stripes and the flag bearing the firefighters’ emblem at half-mast, as department members, and members of our community, mourned the loss of Jimmy Charron, our neighbor for over a half of a century.

The oldest of James and Lorraine Charron’s five children, Jimmy moved to the farmhouse on Canterbury Road with his family in 1964. His eye was always on the home which he would eventually own. Jimmy often recalled walking by as a boy, admiring it and dreaming that he would live there some day, and in 1989 he sold his white Cadillac with the plush red interior for $34,000 to purchase it. Anyone who knew Jimmy can appreciate that sacrifice. Jimmy loved cars. His first was a 1968 turquoise Chevrolet Impala which he owned for 36 years. He fixed vehicles for a living, and enjoyed the company of the people who owned them.

A Vietnam War era veteran, Jimmy served in the Air Force from 1975 to 1981 when he was honorably discharged with an illness that would necessitate dialysis for the rest of his life. The diagnosis, however, didn’t prevent him from returning to volunteerism. A member of the Fire Department prior to his graduation from Parish Hill, he re-enlisted, and though his health precluded him from serving as an active fireman, he assumed the position of Treasurer, a role he filled for 33 years and one for which he was recognized when named the Gazette’s Citizen of the Year in 2000. The State of Connecticut also issued a Governor’s Proclamation to Jimmy for “three decades of dedicated service to the Hampton Fire Company, the residents of Hampton, and the State of Connecticut” when he retired as Treasurer in 2013 and from the Department he served for 40 years.

Jimmy loved Hampton. He loved its people, and he loved, at least as wholeheartedly as any of us, his home.  These last five years, his sister Lisa’s assistance enabled him to live there. And when he made the decision to stop dialysis, the treatments he received three times a week for forty years, Lisa and their brother Joel, who came from his farm in New York, stayed there with him so he could enjoy his family, his favorite foods, and his many friends in the home he loved so well. His last days saw a steady stream of visitors. The entire fire department, members past and present, many current and former neighbors, the proprietors of Boyds’ Restaurant, who gave Jimmy his first and “best job” at the age of 15, attested to the endurance of his relationships. He spoke with us of the past, of growing up in Hampton, of all the things he’d loved, his cars, his dogs — Taffy, Brandy and Cinnamon, all the people his path crossed, those he knew well and those he knew briefly, with only the kindest of words for all of them. And he spoke of how lucky he’d been.

Jimmy had no enemies and he had no complaints.  One of the bravest individuals any of us has ever met, we marveled at his courage. He carried the burden of his health with so much dignity and so much gratitude, for the joy he found in living every day never diminished. All who had the privilege of knowing him were blessed with his example.

Our condolences to Jimmy’s sister Lisa, his brothers John and Jody of Hampton, and Joel and Marianne, and their sons Joel Jr,. also of Hampton, and daughter Jessie Rose, and Jamie, and son Jaylen. Donations in Jimmy’s honor may be made to the Hampton Fire Company.