LITTLE DIAMOND ISLAND – James Norton Hackett, 80, of Millis, Mass. and Little Diamond Island, Portland, Maine, passed away peacefully on May 27, 2023 at his beloved island summer home.

Jim was born in Portland to Carroll and Lillian Norton Hackett on Jan. 1, 1943. He attended Deering High School and later graduated from the University of Maine at Orono in 1965. He was a teacher for 38 years, largely at Dover-Sherborn High School in Dover, Mass., where he taught French and Spanish and was known by everyone simply as “Señor.” He spent every summer of his life at his family’s cottage on Little Diamond Island in Maine, where he was affectionately known as “Jimmy” or “Uncle Jim.”

Jim lived a life that was filled with joy, laughter, and an unwavering spirit of celebration. He had a wide variety of interests, including tennis, sailing, attending the theater, container gardening, and flower arranging. He also loved to travel and spent many winters in Vieques, Puerto Rico.

Despite his various interests and travels, he loved nothing more than spending time with his friends—attending luncheons and other social events, dancing, and socializing at parties. Yet it was his summer home on Little Diamond where he simply came alive. He could often be found entertaining neighbors on the porch, regaling them with captivating and humorous stories, all while savoring a Southern Comfort Manhattan.

Jim was predeceased by his parents, Carroll and Lillian Hackett, and his brother, Harold Hackett. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Linda Hackett; his nephew Arthur Hackett (Rachel) of Westbrook, his niece Elizabeth Squillante (Chris) and grandnieces Katherine and Caroline of New Canaan, Conn.; and his cousin Patricia Locke of Lufkin, Texas.

He will be dearly missed not only by his surviving family, but the many friends, neighbors, colleagues and traveling companions who thought of Jimmy as part of their own family.

Online condolences may be expressed at http://www.hobbsfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers,

donations may be given to:

Oceanside Conservation Trust or Friends of Casco Bay, both of which Jim supported



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