Louis James Upham, Jr. (Lou, Jim), 81, passed away peacefully overnight on Monday, December 9, 2019 after a lengthy stay at Royal Middletown in Middletown, RI.
Born October 30, 1938 in Baltimore, MD to the late Dr. Louis Upham, Sr. and Marie (Kurddle) Upham he was raised in Augusta, ME with his brother Robert C. Upham. He graduated from St. Frances High School and then attended RI School of Design for a year before enlisting in the Navy (1958-1962) where he served as a corpsman in Newport, RI.
While stationed in Newport he met and married the love of his life, Joanne (McKinney) on April 28, 1962. In Newport, together they raised six children. Louis C. Upham (Kate Sanderson) of Newport; Cynthia L. Church (Greg) of Killingly, CT; Michael J. Upham of Newport; Laurie A. Upham of Warwick; Lisa M. Reale (Anthony) of Liverpool, NY; and Jodi L. Peters (Michael) of Middletown. They have been blessed with 11 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren as well as several fur grand babies, all of whom they are very proud. He was predeceased by his grandson, Matthew S. Reale.
Lou and Joanne took up residence in Warwick, RI where they lived for 20 years before returning “home to the Island”.
Lou has pumped gas, been a Real Estate Broker, worked in retail with WT Grant and J.T. O’Connell among others and he worked as a Nursing Assistant with Home Care of Hospice which he referred to as “my most rewarding occupation”.
Lou enjoyed fishing, canoeing, drawing and painting, calligraphy and wood carving. He also found joy using his computer and watching Western movies.
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated, Saturday, December 14, 2019 at 10:00 am in St. Joseph’s Church, Broadway at Mann Avenue, Newport, RI.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Hope Hospice of RI.
