James Allen Worden, 81, of Greenfield, died on June 2 from Lewy Body Dementia.

Jim was born in Oak Bluffs on May 26, 1943 to Dorothy (Stuhler) Worden and Frederick Hudson Worden.

He graduated from Martha’s Vineyard High School and then enlisted in the Army. He was trained as military police and was assigned to the 545th MP Company, in South Korea. He spent 13 months and 2 weeks patrolling in the United States Army’s First Cavalry Division. He was then stationed at Fort Devens. After his time in the service, Jim went on to study accounting with an associates degree from Greenfield Community College, a bachelor’s degree from UMass Amherst and a master’s degree from Western New England College. His career spanned many decades as a controller and eventually chief financial officer for hospitals all over New England (Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire). He retired from The Community Health Center and enjoyed many years golfing with “The Morning Crew” and traveling with family and friends.

In 1965, Jim met Margaret on Martha’s Vineyard. The story goes that he and his father pretended to sell magazines door to door in an effort to meet the good looking girl staying with his aunt. It worked because Jim and Margaret eventually married and went on to have two daughters: Jaime and Angela.

He loved spending time with his in-laws Edward and Maureen Heon, Carolyn and Donald O’Brien, and many nieces and nephews.

He loved researching his family genealogy and he loved to read, leaning toward dry British humor and history. He loved to find tidbits of information, quotes and historical facts and present them at celebrations and dinner parties.

You knew Jim cared about you if he made the effort to share a little tidbit with you. He loved to garden, teaching his girls how to plant vegetables when they were little, and offering planting advice as they grew and created their own gardens.

He spent hours in the yard and every window of his home carried potted plants and was filled with life.

Jim was an avid golfer and member of the Country Club of Greenfield. He eventually fulfilled his dream of playing the links at the Kilspindie Golf Club in Scotland.

He loved to travel and he and Mar

garet made many memories while traveling with friends and family. They adventured on cruises to Alaska, the United Kingdom, the Mediterranean and countless New Year’s Eve trips to Myrtle Beach to golf.

He was always emailing his daughters with interesting articles, trivia or websites. At the end of every email he signed off with: “The pure and simple truth is seldom pure and never simple.”

He lived simple but his life was really rather extraordinary.

Jim was predeceased by his sisters Brenda Lynch and Ellen Krikorian.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years Margaret (Heon) Worden, his daughter Jaime (Worden) Dalmau and her husband Michael of East Harwich, his daughter Angela Worden-Corey and her husband Jason of Turners Falls, his sister Cheryl Pinkham of Vineyard Haven, and his sister Paula Stone of Hartford, Ala. Private graveside services will be held at Saint Mary’s Assumption Cemetery in Haydenville. A public celebration of life will be held on Saturday, June 22 at 2 p.m. at Terrazza at the Country Club of Greenfield (244 Country Club Road Greenfield). Special thanks goes to the care team at Charlene Manor and Lesley O’Brien, for the comfort they provided during his last weeks and days. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be directed to LifePath (101 Munson Street, Suite 201, Greenfield, MA 01301), an organization that helped Jim’s family navigate the challenges of loving someone with dementia. Arrangements are under the direction of Kostanski Funeral Home.