Hon. James W. Killam III (’59) Remembered
The Honorable James W. Killam III, laid down his gavel for the last time on February 3, 2018. He was born on May 29, 1932 to Gladys Mae Trevor and J. Warren Killam, Jr. He grew up in Reading, MA with his sister Audrey, where he played on the varsity football team and graduated Salutatorian from Reading Memorial High School with the Class of 1950. During his high school years he achieved the honor of Eagle Scout.
Jim graduated from Yale College in 1954 with a B.A. in Philosophy and a varsity football letter, something that gave him pride throughout his life. He was intellectually exceptional, a student of philosophy, one of only four in the class, a staunch member of the Bull Moose Party in the Yale Political Union and a dedicated member of the Yale Dramat.
Life of service – Judge Killam started early and stayed with it. After Yale, Jim enlisted in the Army and achieved the rank of Captain. He was an artillery instructor at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. Upon returning from the Army, Jim attended Boston University Law School and graduated in 1959. That year he also married his beloved wife, Nancy Ann Maloney, to whom he was married 40 years, until she passed in 1999.
Jim joined his father’s legal practice in Melrose in the early 1960s, and they went on to found the Law Offices of Killam and Killam. Jim’s connection to Melrose grew exponentially: he was active in Melrose Rotary for more than 55 years, served as president and was decorated as a Paul Harris Fellow; he served on the board of directors of the Melrose Cooperative Bank, and he served on the board of trustees of the Melrose-Wakefield Hospital for close to 40 years through its transition to Hallmark Health. During his tenure, he was a strong proponent of the School of Nursing and worked with his future long-time partner Jane Bain.