James A Lavigne

James A. Lavigne (Jim), 76, passed away on June 3, 2026 peacefully at home in Taunton surrounded by family after a lengthy illness.

Jim was born in Taunton and raised in Dighton where he attended Dighton schools and graduated from Dighton-Rehoboth in 1968. He then served in the United States Air Force from 1968-1972 stationed in Dover, Delaware. He graduated from Johnson & Wales with a bachelor’s degree in business management. He decided to change his career path and began working as an emergency dispatcher for the Town of Dighton. He then became a part-time reserve officer before graduating from the full-time police academy in 1988 and worked full-time for the Town of Dighton. After serving the town for a total of 30 years, he retired from the Dighton Police Department as a sergeant in 2014.

Jim was married to the love of his life, Lidwina (Ludy) for almost 54 years. They enjoyed raising their two daughters, Tonya and Jaime, in Taunton and later helped welcome their 2 grandsons Christopher and Jonathan.

In his younger days, he enjoyed ice-fishing with his brothers-in-law and golfing. He loved taking flying lessons out of East Taunton Airport and flying over his dad’s house in Dighton. He loved setting up and cooking all day at the annual Lavigne Clambakes. Cooking was one of his passions. He was an avid collector of cook books and hot sauces. He loved watching the Red Sox, Patriots and the cooking shows on the Food Network. After retirement, he enjoyed traveling with Ludy to Aruba, Hawaii and cruising the Caribbean where he even won a dance competition doing “The Twist” on one of their cruises. He also enjoyed his daily drives through his hometown of Dighton, especially when his grandsons joined him. He was a man of deep Catholic Faith and attended St. Mary’s and St. Anthony’s Parish in Taunton.

He is predeceased by his grandson, Jonathan Fernau. He is also predeceased by his parents, George and Virginia Lavigne, and Stepmother, Anna Lavigne. He is additionally predeceased by his siblings, Roseanne Costa, George Lavigne II, William Lavigne, John Lavigne and his nephews, George Lavigne III, Chucky Lavigne, Christopher Boyce and Nicholas Boyce. He is survived by his wife, Ludy, his daughters, Tonya and her husband, Sean Joyce of Rochester, Jaime Lavigne of Taunton, his grandson Christopher Lavigne of Newport News, VA, granddaughter, Madison Aguiar and her son Christopher John (CJ) Guilmette of Fall River. He is also survived by his brother Charles and wife, Patricia Lavigne of Nashua, NH and sister, Claire and her husband Richard Ferreira of Dighton and several nieces and nephews.

Jim’s family would like to thank Boston Medical Center and Compassionate Care Hospice for their unwavering care and support provided to him and his family. Funeral home visiting hours will be held at the O’Keefe Wade Funeral Home, 70 Washington St., Taunton, MA 02780 on Sunday, June 7th from 2-4 pm. Funeral from the funeral home on Monday at 9 am Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Anthony’s Church in Taunton at 10 am. Burial will be at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Taunton. In lieu of flowers, please donate in Jim’s honor to the National Kidney Foundation at give.kidneyfund.org.

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