James C. O'Riordan

CALAIS – James Cornelius O’Riordan, 60, loving husband and devoted father of two, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, surrounded by the love of his family after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

Born on May 7, 1963, in Oakland, California, he was the son of John and Kathleen Reardon. James (Jim or Seamus) grew up in Lafayette, CA, and attended St. Perpetua School in Lafayette, CA, De La Salle High School in Concord, CA, Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Geography from San Francisco State University.   While growing up in CA, Jim spent many summers with his family in the Sierra Nevada mountains at their cabin at Pinecrest Lake, where his love for the outdoors became cemented in his being.

Jim and his wife Pam met and fell in love in 1997 while he was temporarily visiting a dear friend from New Mexico in Roxbury, Vermont. They shared a love of the outdoors among other things, especially skiing/snowboarding, biking, kayaking, traveling, live music, and animals, and knew they had found someone special in each other to share their life.  Jim proposed to Pam in pure Jim fashion on the beach on an island in Maine while they were looking out at the ocean among the seals.  Jim had found in Pam another adventurous spirit and they enjoyed so many things together including honeymooning in Bali, kayaking to remote islands in Maine, traveling to Ethiopia to adopt their daughter, camping with their children, and attending many concerts and music festivals.  Before Jim came to Vermont and could not bring himself to leave because of the beautiful snowboarding at Sugarbush and his newly found love with Pam, he resided in Volcano, HI; El Porvenir, NM; and San Francisco/Oakland, CA.  During his seven years in New Mexico, Jim enjoyed snowboarding in Santa Fe, mountain biking, and riding horses among the beauty of Gallinas Canyon, where he showed his determination and tenacity by building a suspension bridge across a large river all on his own.  While in New Mexico, Jim also learned some tricks of the plumbing trade and then obtained more experience installing and repairing water heaters while living back in the Bay Area.

When Jim first came to Vermont, he worked as a snowboard instructor at Sugarbush Resort in Warren and then as an Environmental Scientist at Stone Environmental in Montpelier.  Then he entered the plumbing field with Bourne’s Energy followed by St. Cyr Plumbing and Heating before starting his own business, O’Riordan Plumbing and Heating, which he successfully ran for approximately 20 years.  His plumbing work was meticulous and he worked very hard to provide quality service with a smile.  He was overjoyed when he landed a job just this past January as a Master Plumber for the State of Vermont Buildings and General Services (BGS).  He loved exploring and fixing plumbing issues in the Capital Building in Montpelier and had found a new camaraderie among the BGS staff in the short time that he was there.  Jim was dearly loved and appreciated by all who got to work with him and by his many plumbing clients, whom he would often give the low-income, single parent, or friend discount which was usually a six-pack of beer, preferably Heady Topper.

Jim had a heart of gold and was the kindest friend anyone was lucky to have and the most loving and playful father.  He will always be remembered for his lively and hilarious storytelling.  Jim had a true zest for life and enjoyed snowboarding, mountain biking, fishing, hunting, beach life, camping, live music, traveling, gardening, playing with his kids, and spending time with his family and friends. His passion was mountain biking and he was a member of the Montpelier Area Mountain Bike Association (MAMBA).  In 2007, he trained for and conquered the VT 50, a 50-mile mountain bike race in Ascutney, Vermont.  Whenever Jim had spare time, you could find him mountain biking even in the winter smiling ear to ear on the roads or trails in Calais.  Jim was also a big animal lover and enjoyed hiking and snowshoeing with his furry friends Cody, Sozie, and Ivy who were by his side in his final days.

Survivors include his loving wife Pam DeAndrea and his two children Skyler and Sinta O’Riordan, who were the light of his life, his mother Kathy Reardon, his sisters Mary Tallyn and her husband, Ed, and Susan Rusk and her husband, Jim, his brother-in-law Franz Krieg, his nephews Maximilian and his wife, Meg and Rex Krieg, his nieces Allison Fong and her husband, Brian,  Jennifer Silva and her husband, Taylor, and Kathleen Rusk as well as his great-nephews Henry Fong and Owen Silva and great-niece Adeline Fong.

In addition to his father, John Cornelius Reardon, he was predeceased by his sisters Theresa Reardon, and Tish Krieg, and his stepfather Howard Kopping.

The service to honor and celebrate his life will be held on Sunday, May 26, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. in the Calais Town Hall, 1662 Kent Hill Road. There are no calling hours.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Wings of Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Research (https://wingsofhopepcr.org/).