Services will be Thursday at 9:30 AM at the Higgins-Reardon Funeral Home Austintown Chapel and at 10:00 AM at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church for James Cantwell age 84 of Austintown, who passed away Monday afternoon at Carrington South after a brief illness.
James was born November 1, 1920, in Youngstown, the son of James E. and Harriet M. McCabe Cantwell.
He was a graduate of St. Edward's School, a 1939 graduate of Ursuline High School, and later attended Youngstown College. He served in the Army during WWII and had participated in the D-Day invasion on Utah Beach.
He had worked at the US Steel Corporation's Ohio Works for over 41 years, retiring as a purchasing agent in 1980. he was the founder and president of the "Shut Down" club for US Steel Retirees. Jim was instrumental in the establishment of the Historical Center of Industry and Labor in Youngstown. He voluntarily gathered many of the artifacts and information displayed, helping preserve the Valley's Steel Manufacturing History for future generations. Mr. Cantwell and his wife were charter members of the Immaculate Heart of Mary church where he had served as an usher, and was a member of its Senior Citizens, Holy Name Society, and its Men's Club.
His wife the former Helen V. Reagan whom he married February 2, 1946, died December 1, 2004.
He is survived by two daughters, Margery Michael Barthelmy of Silver Springs, MD. and Mary Louise McNally of Austintown; a son Robert J. Cantwell of Westlake, Ohio; two sisters, his twin Catherine E. "Betty" Cantwell, and a sister Martha R. Parry both of Liberty Twp.; four grandchildren JenniferCasey McNally Anderson of North Royalton, Ohio, and Brian, Kevin, and Timothy Cantwell of Westlake, Ohio.
Besides his wife and parents he is preceded in death by three sisters.
Friends may call from 4 to 8 PM Wednesday at the funeral home.
The family requests that material tributes take the form of donations to the American Cancer Society.