Obituary of James Burch

James W. Burch, age 87, passed away peacefully at his home on Woodcrest Drive on March 10, 2014, two days shy of his 88th birthday, following a long illness. He was born March 12, 1926 in Schenectady, the son of the late Cornelius and Clara Spickler Burch. Jim grew up in Mechanicville and attended Mechanicville High School. At age 17 he left high school prior to his graduation to proudly enlist in the US Marines. He served as corporal in WWII stationed in Guam. He loved his country and was proud to serve. Jim earned a number of medals for his service overseas. Upon his discharge in 1946 he completed his high school education and graduated in 1947. He then attended R.P.I. for two years before joining with the General Electric Company's Apprentice Program in Schenectady. During his career at G.E. he became a Class A Molder. Jim was always a thinker and strived to do things better. He won numerous suggestion awards and his ideas were implemented by G.E. to increase job quality and productivity. In 1951 he married the love of his life, Lorraine A. Niemiec. They celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary last fall. Jim retired in 1986 with 38 years of continuous service at G.E. He was a loving and caring husband and father. He will be remembered by his children as "The Best Dad in the World". He taught them that they could do or be anything in life they wanted if they worked hard. He himself was talented in so many ways. He could build or fix anything. He even built the family home in Woodhaven. Jim was always helping others with their projects and one of his favorite places was his workshop. He loved to play golf, bowl, dance and ski. One of his greatest passions was aviation. He became an expert at radio control flying planes. He built hundreds of planes for himself and friends and taught many of them to fly. Jim was also fond of boats and cars. He was a member of the American Modeling Association and was on the AMA Show Team and Empire State Show Team. He was a member of the Polish American Club, the Scotia-Glenville Elks, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Adirondack Modelers Club. He is survived by his beloved wife Lorraine and their two children: A son, David (Kelly) Burch of Pueblo, CO and his daughter, Donna (William) Makuch of Waxhaw, NC. He has one grandson. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Monday, March 17th at 9:00 AM at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Saratoga Rd. East Glenville with Jerome Gingras officiating. Calling hours will be held Sunday, March 16th from 2 PM to 5 PM at the Glenville Funeral Home, 9 Glenridge Rd. Glenville. Burial with MARINE MILITARY HONORS will take place on Monday at St. Anthony's Cemetery, Glenridge Rd. Contributions may be made in James W. Burch's name to the American Heart Association Inc. Online condolences may be expressed at www.glenvillefuneralhome.com