James J. Graham, 87, of Venice, FL and formerly of Hampton, NH died peacefully on Sunday, Nov. 24 ^th at Venice Regional Bayfront Health.

Jim was born and educated in Methuen, MA and he graduated from Edward F. Searles High School, Class of 1949. He served on the City Council in Methuen, he was a Past President of Local 651 AFL-CIO and a former member of Methuen Knights of Columbus. Jim worked at Lawrence Paper Board for 32 years as a purchasing agent and he worked in criminal investigations for the State of Mass Attorney General's Office for 10 years.

Jim will be sadly missed by his children, James Graham Jr. And wife Janet of Bradford, MA, Carlene Nazarian of Salem, NH and Christine Betts and husband Mark of Arlington, MA; his sister, Mary Jane Strondak of Venice, FL; his companion, Carol McRitchie of Kent, CT; his 10 grandchildren, Kenneth, Kimberly, Courtney, Jeffrey, Kelly, Stephan, Laura, Christopher, Ryan and Chandler and his 4 great grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents, Hanora (Curran), Madeline (Ford) and Peter Graham, his wife Marjorie Reilly and his daughter, Lee Ann Chouinard.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, December 28 ^th at 11:00 AM at St. Monica Parish, 212 Lawrence St. Methuen, MA.

In lieu of flowers, donations in James' name may be made to: American Heart Association, PO Box 417005, Boston, MA 02241-7005.

Arrangements are under the direction of Douglas & Johnson Funeral Home, 214 Main St. Salem, NH 03079. To send a message of condolence to the family, please view the obituary at www.douglasandjohnson.com