James Martin Crowley

James Martin Crowley, 79, passed away peacefully in his sleep on September 3, 2024. 

James was born on October 21, 1944, one of the late John and Elizabeth (Tagg) Crowley’s seven children. He was born and raised in Groton, MA., and lived there his whole life. 

He is survived by his devoted daughter Paula Jo Crowley (Groton, MA); his sisters, Zoee Crowley (Maui, HI), Sally Barber (Euclid, OH), his “Irish Twin,” Elizabeth Hewitt (Gloucester, MA), and his brother Jeffrey Crowley (Groton, MA) ; his grandson Geoffrey and his wife Ashley Rollins; and two great-grandsons, James and Chase Rollins, as well as numerous nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. Jim was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Pamela, and his brothers John and Robert Crowley. 

After graduating from Groton Public School in 1964, Jim married his high school sweetheart, Pamela (Pam) St. Onge on December 11, 1965. He supported his family by honing his many talents, which included becoming a Master Plumber and a multi-talented Welder Fabricator. He worked along side his brother Jeff for many years teaching him many of his trades. His skills he would later also use to install the plumbing and heating systems in the dream home he and Pam built together. 

On St. Patrick’s Day in 1967, Jim and Pam welcomed their beloved daughter Paula Jo to whom they were both devoted. Jim raised Paula to have a strong sense of herself, a great sense of humor, and a generous heart, just like his. Though Jim was the strong, silent type, he was kind and never missed an opportunity to help others, especially if someone’s heater went out in the middle of a New England winter night! Jim could fix anything! If something only cost a few dollars to replace, he would try to fix it instead. Reading up on how it worked and even watching late night fix-it YouTube videos in between laughing out loud at The Jerry Springer Show. Maybe that’s why some of his patch jobs were called Jimmy-rigged! As talented as Jim was at fixing things, he never mastered the art of cell phone volume control and picture taking, never mind keeping airplane mode off so he could hear the phone ring! 

Jim had countless funny expressions and touched many lives with his wit and generosity, and though he didn’t say much, when he did, it was usually something funny! He delighted Paula and her childhood friend Mary during Saturday morning cartoons, when he would patiently step over the mess the girls had made in the living room, find his place on the couch and laugh uncontrollably as Wiley E. Coyote never caught the Roadrunner. His garage, full of all the accoutrements of a handyman, welder, racecar driver, hunter, and Bruins fan, was infinitely fascinating to the girls, and sometimes, while molding bullets, he would make heavy, whimsical little figurines out of lead for them! Jim was adventurous and never lost the spirit of childhood. Though his favorite fast-food was chili from Wendy’s, he sometimes ordered random-numbered meals from other fast-food restaurants just to be surprised by what meal he would unwrap. On his 70th birthday, he even went zip-lining with his daughter and landed perfectly every time. A few years ago, he happily dressed up as Santa for his great-grandsons to bring some joy during Covid. Talking about his great-grandsons always brough a huge smile to his face! 

As co-founder, with his brothers Bobby and Jeff, of Crowley Bros. Racing, Jim was enormously proud of his grandson Geoffrey for following in his footsteps as a Championship Racecar Driver. Right up until his passing, Jim could be seen at a race track every week and spent countless hours in the garage with Geoff’s pit crew. He always looked forward to attending race week in Florida every February. Generally, if he wasn’t in the garage or at a race, he was watching one on TV. Jim was also an avid hunter, using everything from bow and arrow to muzzleloaders and shotguns. His family joked that every fall when hunting season started, he would be in the woods for a month or so and only come out when he needed a haircut! In his later years, he spent a great deal of time with his daughter, grandson, and great-grandsons, but never missed his daily cruise around Pepperell to get Cumbie’s coffee and see what was going on! 

Jim, “Papa” to many, will be greatly missed. 

Family and friends will gather to honor and remember Jim for visiting hours on Monday, September 9, 2024, from 4:00-7:00 pm at the Badger Funeral Home, 45 School Street, Groton. His funeral service will be held in the funeral home on Tuesday, September 10 at 11:00 am. Burial will follow at Groton Cemetery, Groton.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Jim's memory to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html