James "Jimmy" F. Halloran

Jimmy Halloran, 76 of Hampton passed from this life on December 24, 2017 at home with his devoted wife, Mary Ellen, by his side. Born in Brooklyn, New York on February 5, 1941 to Rita (Whitney) and Francis Halloran, Jimmy went on to live his life in his own unique way. His recovery from heroin addiction 50 years ago and subsequent successful pursuit of various careers demonstrated his resilience, courage and determination. Having dropped out of high school at age 15, he later went back to school and earned a B.A. in Community Development from Rutgers University and a M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Lone Mountain College in San Francisco, CA. After his recovery in Daytop Village, New York he stayed on as a Drug Rehabilitation Counselor and Director of a Daytop residential treatment facility, then relocated to California and served in a similar capacity with the VA Hospital in Martinez, CA. Jimmy felt the need to do something different, so he went to massage school and practiced massage therapy for several years. When he tired of that, he decided to learn how to clean chimneys and started up two chimney sweeping businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area, owning and operating them for 17 years. He was a Past President of the California Chimney Sweep Guild. During this time, he met and married Mary Ellen who had moved from Connecticut to California to attend school. Jimmy was sidelined for a few years with Hepatitis C which led him to following a macrobiotic lifestyle that got his disease under control. He co-founded the Hepatitis C Global Foundation and assumed the task of educating patients about the potential beneficial effects of macrobiotics on their disease. Back on his feet, he obtained a real estate broker’s license in California and then in Connecticut after he and Mary Ellen decided it was time to return to their East Coast roots. Upon retiring from real estate, Jimmy remained active in the town of Hampton, serving as an election official and as Chairperson of the Board of Directors of The Hampton Gazette until his bout with esophageal cancer recently forced him to resign reluctantly. Jimmy’s crowning achievement was the publication of his memoir, It Ain’t Over Till the Fat Lady Sings, in the Spring of 2017 which he wrote with the hope that it will help others who are afflicted with addiction to realize that they can turn their lives around and live fulfilling lives. He will be missed deeply by those whose paths crossed his on his journey through this life. In addition to his wife Mary Ellen, Jimmy is survived by his son Michael Iannolino (Laura) of Staten Island, NY; his granddaughter Nicole Sanders (De’Jean) of Fairbanks, AK; his sister Patricia Levine (Ronald) of New York, NY; two aunts and several nephews and cousins. A Memorial Service to celebrate Jimmy’s life will be held at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson Street, Willimantic, CT on Sunday, January 7, 2018 at 2:00 PM. If you feel so inclined, you are invited to share with those in attendance a memory of Jimmy that you might hold dear. Please consider donating in Jimmy’s name to Samaritan Daytop Foundation, 138-02 Queens Blvd., Briarwood, NY  11435, Attention: Development Department. For an online memorial guestbook please visit www.potterfuneralhome.com

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