James Maynard

James R. Maynard, Jr., 74, of Orland, Maine, formerly of Enfield, CT– took his final flight on Friday, May 3rd surrounded by family as he succumbed to a long illness. “Diamond Jim” or “Big Jim”, son of the late James R and Helen E (Rzepniewski) Maynard, is survived by a wife, Kathleen Flaherty Maynard, four children; Scott Flaherty, Melissa Maynard, Jayme Maynard and Rebecca and husband Sean McGowan, three grandchildren; Jessica Hansen, Aaron Flaherty and Jake Flaherty, a sister; Myrna and husband Donald McCord, and numerous extended family on both sides including the infamous Rzepniewski and Flaherty clans. Jim worked for the US Government for 49 years, including both active duty as well as Air Force Reserves, where he was a member of the 439th Transportation Squadron at Westover Air Force Base in Massachusetts. When he retired from the Air Force Reserves in 1989, Jim worked as a Quality Assurance Specialist for the Department of Defense at GE in Rutland, Vermont, where he retired in 2002. He was an avid stock car fan and was active in participating in the early days of NASCAR at Stafford Springs, CT and traveled the circuit with his late buddy, Gene Bergin, driver in the modified circuit. He was also an avid sports fan and traveler in which he and his family took many camping trips throughout the United States. A celebration of life will be held at the Elk’s Lodge, 138 N. Maple St, Enfield, CT on Sunday, May 19th from 1-4pm for friends and family that would like to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either the Wounded Warrior Project (http://woundedwarriorproject.og), the Disabled American Veterans Organization (http://www.dav.org) or CHCS Hospice Services (http://chcs-me.org)