James Michael Ferron
SGT in 3132nd Signal Service Co
Military occupational specialty: 776 (radio operator, low speed)
ASN#12198031
Born 1922 in NY, Died 1996
Other residence(s): Livonia, NY; Rochester, NY; Greece, NY; Hilton, NY; Manchester, NY
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Occupation before the war: clerk
College education after the war: Rochester Institute of Technology
James Ferron was born on June 9, 1922 in Livonia, NY, the ninth of ten children. His father was a farmer. By 1930, the family had moved to Rochester, NY, where James' father worked as a farm laborer.
By the time he registered for the draft, on June 30, 1942, James was employed by Rochester's most well-known business, Kodak, working at the Hawk-Eye Works where Hawk-Eye cameras were made.
James enlisted in the Army's Signal Corps on October 15, 1942 as a member of the Reserves, was called to active duty on March 8, 1943, and was eventually assigned to the 3132 Signal Service Company. He married Elvera Curtin in December, 1943. He went to Europe with the Ghost Army, where his separation record says that he was a radio operator and that he "operated and maintained high power secret electrical apparatus." He was discharged on November 16, 1945 at Camp Shelby, MS with the rank of SGT.
James returned to Rochester, Elvera, and Kodak after the war. He used his GI Bill benefits to earn an engineering degree at Rochester Institute of Technology, and obtained a position as an electrical engineer at Kodak. He and Elvera became the parents of five daughters: Maureen, Pamela, Diane, Mary Ellen, and Nancy.
In addition to his electrical engineering skills, he was apparently also skilled at construction engineering, since he built a garage at his home in Greece, NY in 1953. In a sad twist of fate, the garage burned in a fire a week after the structure was completed. He had just finished painting it, and ruefully admitted that he had paint, rags, and brushes stored in the building.
James' career at Kodak spanned 42 years. After retirement, he and Elvera moved to Manchester, NY, closer to the Finger Lakes area. He died at the VA Medical Center in Canandaigua, NY on June 26, 1996 and is buried at St. Michael's Cemetery in Livonia, NY.
Sources:
1930 census
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6224/records/41041210
1942 draft card
1943 enlistment record
1943 marriage license listing in Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY)
1948 Rochester Institute of Technology yearbook
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1265/records/287950512?_phcmd=u(%27ancestry.com/search/?name=james+michael_ferron&event=_rocheste...)
1950 census
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62308/records/290421157?_phcmd=u(%27ancestry.com/search/?name=james+michael_ferron&event=_rocheste...)
1953 article in the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY) about a fire at his house
https://www.newspapers.com/image/135925013/?match=1&terms=james%20m%20ferron
1954 Rochester, NY city directory
1959 Rochester, NY city directory
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469/records/1331992861?_phcmd=u(%27ancestry.com/search/?name=james+michael_ferron&event=_rocheste...)
1996 obituary in Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/136040378/?match=1&terms=james%20m%20ferron
1996 Find a Grave record
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/212169756/james-michael-ferron
1996 Social Security death index
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3693/records/19070450?_phcmd=u(%27ancestry.com/search/?name=james+michael_ferron&event=_rocheste...)