Staff photo / J.T. Whitehouse... James Nagle of Boardman turned the big 100 on Tuesday, and he still looks back at his wedding day photo with a smile.

BOARDMAN — James G. Nagle celebrated his 100th birthday on Tuesday and 100 years of precious memories.

He long has been known as a caring man, a dedicated teacher and an avid fisherman.

Nagle was born in Girard to Dr. Joseph and Margaret Nagle, a nurse. He attended Ursuline High School as a teen and dated an Ursuline student named Lenore McLaughlin.

Lenore went on to marry Thomas Kerrigan from the same 1940 graduating class as Nagle and together that couple had six children. For Nagle, it was on to college, attending John Carroll University until the war broke out. He was unaware how Lenore would come back into his life later.

Nagle saw the need to serve during World War II, and he enlisted in the Navy, where he earned the rank of Pharmacist First Mate. He served on land in medical supplies in the Philippines and New Guinea.

While serving on Manus Island in New Guinea on Nov. 10, 1944, he was walking along the dock area and just started heading up the path to higher ground when the USS Mount Hood ammunition vessel exploded, killing 45, wounding 371, and leaving 327 sailors never found. Nagle said the explosion knocked him off his feet and may have been a big contributor to his partial hearing loss. He was also at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked.

Nagle continued to serve and took enjoyment in teaching the pharmaceutical work to other young sailors.

“I was sort-of like a nurse,” Nagle said. “I spent most of my time in the hospitals working with medical supplies. I started teaching others about pharmacy and that started me” heading toward the education field.

In 1946, Nagle was honorably discharged from the Navy and he picked up where he left off. It was back to college, only this time he attended Hiram College for a degree in education. In 1948, he started teaching science at Bloomfield schools. He left Bloomfield in 1952 and went to teach at Columbia Station, west of Cleveland. He stayed there until 1966.

While at Columbia Station, he had the opportunity to attend his 25th Ursuline class reunion. At that event, he was reunited with Lenore, who attended as a class guest. Thomas Kerrigan had died the prior year after battling cancer, leaving Lenore a 42-year-old widow with six children, ages 5 through 15, to raise. It seemed meant to be, and Nagle married Lenore and took over as head of the family.

“As the oldest at age 14, I had become the man of the family,” Patrick Kerrigan said. “He came in and relieved me of that responsibility, and I was glad.”

Patrick said his brother and sisters (Nancy Kerrigan, Kitty King, Maureen Kerrigan, Tom Kerrigan and Betty Winland) all attended college thanks to the efforts of Nagle. His goal was that all the kids got a good education.

“I didn’t have much extra time with six kids,” Nagle said. “But I helped raise them all, and they all turned out well. I couldn’t ask for more. I always spent time with them and I enjoyed every minute.”

When Nagle married Lenore, he moved to the Mahoning Valley and was hired by Lowellville schools where he served as teacher and helped coach girls and boys track and junior high basketball. His goal was to help keep Lenore’s children in their childhood home, which he did.

He retired from Lowellville in 1982 after 16 years and a total of 34 years serving as an educator.

The one passion Nagle had most of his life was fishing, and he would regularly visit Canada to fish. He purchased a 16-foot boat and enjoyed fishing for bass. Nagle also loved to golf.

In looking back over the past 100 years, Nagle said he saw gas go from 19 cents a gallon to its present high of more than $4. While he started driving at 16, he said his father usually had the family’s big Chevrolet sedan to go on medical calls.

“The cars today seem bigger and faster,” he said. “They are streamlined. Cars in old time didn’t go as fast either, and they were hard for a kid to climb into. One used to have to step up. Today you step in.”

He also said television has become a big deal, where radio was the entertainment when he was young.

“My fondest memory is of roller skates,” he said. “With my first pair, I spent more time learning to roller skate than I did skating.”

On June 25, a 100th celebration took place at Boardman Park and was well attended. One of those present was Lowellville Mayor Jim Iudiciani. The mayor was a student of Nagle’s at Lowellville and he presented Nagle with a proclamation for his “outstanding service and citizenship.”

“He got a little choked up while reading James the proclamation,” Patrick Kerrigan said.

Patrick and Nancy had a special sign made for the front lawn that says, “Catch of the Century, Yes, He is 100.”

Besides the six children and their spouses, Nagle has 11 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and two more on the way.

To suggest a Saturday profile, contact Features Editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com or Metro Editor Marly Reichert at mreichert@tribtoday.com.

jtwhitehouse@vindy.com