Burial Date
Obituaries » JAMES A. BLACK
BLACK, JAMES A., 69, of Washington, passed away November 16, at Rowan Court Health and Rehabilitation Center in Barre. Born Aug. 6, 1944, in Barre, he was the son of Albert J. and Mabel R. (Orlandi) Black. He attended elementary school in the north end, graduated from Spaulding High School in 1965, and later attended Vermont Technical College in Randolph Center. From 1966 to 1968, he served in the United States Army in Germany. On May 28, 1983, James married Carolyn (Farnham) Elmer. They made their home in Barre until moving to Washington in 2006. James was a proud member of the Barre City Fire Department for 33 years. He served as a firefighter and an EMT and later became the deputy chief until his retirement due to ill health. His heart was always with the fire department, and being a part of it was his greatest joy. He was a member of American Legion Post 10 of Barre. He was a past member of the Granite Masonic Lodge 35, F&AM, Granite Chapter 26 Royal Arch Masons, Barre Council 22 Royal and Select Masters, St. Aldemar Commandery 1 Knights Templar, and Mount Sinai Shrine 3 of Montpelier. In earlier years, James was a member of the Washington Baptist Church and helped with the church’s youth activities and hiking trips, had his black belt in karate, ran a karate school over the former Lash Furniture in Barre, and was a kickboxer and took part in kickboxing competitions. James enjoyed the outdoors, hiking, fly fishing, canoeing, biking and riding on his Harley, walking his dogs and reading. Survivors include his wife, Carolyn Black, of Washington; his children and their spouses, Brent Black and wife, Alison, of Wallingford, Alison Black, of Arizona, Gregory Farnham and wife, Erica, of Barre, and Laura Tedesco and husband, Duane, of Peru, N.Y.; four grandchildren; a sister, Flora Black, of Concord, N.H.; his mother-in-law, Josephine Farnham, of Washington; his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law and their spouses, Robert W. Farnham and wife, Charlene, of Washington, Pamela Grimard and husband, Joe, of Hull, Ga., Linda Kuban and husband, Ed, of Chelsea, Beverly Farnham, of Barre, Patricia Driscoll, of Washington, and David Farnham and wife, Beth, of Chelsea; many nieces and nephews. Besides his parents, his father-in-law, Wayne Farnham, and his brother-in-law Kevin Farnham predeceased him.
