James Hurley, 80

LEE, Mass. — James A. Hurley, Sr., 80, of Lee, died peacefully in his sleep Thursday morning at home.

Born in Pittsfield March 29, 1940, the firstborn of John J. and Mary S. Rennie Hurley's 11 children, he was a 1958 graduate of Lenox High School, Jim served his country proudly in the US Army as a member of the 82nd Airborne from his enlistment in 1958 until his honorable discharge in 1961. 

He then went on to earn his Bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

He was employed for most of his career at General Electric Co. in Pittsfield as a computer programmer. He was always furthering his education by taking college courses, even teaching at Berkshire Community College, and in his retirement substitute teaching for Pittsfield public schools.

Jim had an intellectual curiosity that was expressed in his many writings, his voracious love of books and scrabble, his interest in computers and his ability to be self-taught.

His greatest joy was spending time with his children and grandsons, who he adored. He enjoyed life to the fullest and loved to capture it through the lens of his iPhone camera. He was always up for an adventure from camping, hiking, trips to Saratoga Race-track and Balderdash Cellars with Diana to panning for gold in California or putting roofs on homes after hurricane Katrina. 

He was the proud son of an arborist who spent countless hours chopping, splitting and burning wood in his stove that gave him warmth, nostalgia, and joy. 

He could always be counted on for deep conversations, trips to cold spring for water, happy hour and Red Sox games. 

He would often say, "Does it get any better than this?"

He is survived by his children; Kathleen (Kass) Mooney (Kevin) of Springfield, James A. Hurley, Jr. (Melanie) of Lee, Ian J. Hurley of Cheshire, and Diana R. Hurley of Lenox; brothers John J. Hurley (Stella) of Lenox, Terrence Hurley of Auburn, CA., Matthew Hurley (Carol) of Colorado Springs, Colo., Mary Armstrong (Arthur) and Timothy Hurley (Lisa) all of Pittsfield, and Lillian Matelli (Steve) of Belair, Md.;  grandchildren Kaiden and Logan Hurley;  his former wife Katherine Gwozdz and Dianne Carnevale.

Funeral Notice: In keeping with his wishes there are no calling hours or funeral service.  To share memories and stories please visit rochefuneralhome.com.