Below is an obituary from Nichols Funeral Home:
WILMINGTON, MA — Douglas A. Chisholm, a long-time resident of Wilmington, MA died peacefully on April 26, 2024 at Lahey Hospital, holding hands with his wife Beth Magnuson and daughter Bethany Chisholm.
Doug was born in Quincy, MA to Margaret (née Spooner) and Harry Chisholm and raised in Braintree, MA. As the eldest son, his fierce independence led to answering a television ad in 1964 calling for summer workers at Sandy Island Family Camp on New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee. He started his first two years as a boat mechanic’s assistant, quickly developing his foundation of technical skills.
In 1966, he attended Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York to study forestry. There, he helped found the campus volunteer fire department with a handful of fellow students and a 1942 World War II surplus fire truck. He served as the department’s assistant chief, an incredibly important contribution to his life’s story that he carried through a 50-year anniversary with the original crew and beyond.
Doug continued working at Sandy Island during the 1970s, eventually becoming a “Weekender” volunteer tending to all facets of the camp’s electrical, plumbing, and fire safety operations. He met Eileen O’Shea, and the couple married in New Jersey, soon landing in Massachusetts where Doug served as Lieutenant of the Medford Auxiliary Fire Department.
The couple moved to Wilmington, MA in 1979 and Doug settled into suburban life as an electrical contractor and ham radio hobbyist (license number WA1BLG). In 1986, the couple were thrilled to adopt their son Paul from Seoul, South Korea, and Doug was forever charmed and bemused by Paul’s mischievous ingenuity and desire to copy everything his father did. Their daughter Bethany was adopted from Pusan, South Korea in 1990 and the family was complete.
Through the 1990s, Doug’s electrical work brought him to a wide array of sites throughout the Boston area, including Mahoney’s Garden Centers, Logan Airport, the House of Blues Boston, and his favorite–the Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Brookline, MA. He became a single father when Eileen suddenly passed in 1999, bravely navigating his children through the complexities of life and grief while teaching them independence.
Doug and Beth Magnuson were brought together on Sandy Island during the fall “off-season” as volunteers closing the camp for the year. The couple married in July 2001, expanding the family to include Beth’s daughter Sandi Lemieux and son Trevor Lemieux. Doug and Beth continued their summers and pre- and post-season work weekends for nearly two decades together, tackling the kitchen, island infrastructure, and Doug’s beloved Fire Brigade.
Through the years, Doug proudly watched his family grow. He drove Sandi to her wedding ceremony to Kyle Williams at Juliet’s Point on the Engine 2 in 2013, walked Bethany down the aisle to marry Justin Yost in 2015, and became a grandfather to Ryleigh Williams in 2016 and Nathan Wiliams in 2019.
Doug was known as a veritable grump, but everyone knew just below the surface, he was a compassionate, kind person who showed love and care through acts of service. His legacy is a man who knew how to fix anything, an enthusiastic teacher, and a consistent friend with a razor sharp wit. His impact had a ripple effect through the decades–he touched the lives of generations of volunteer firefighters, aspiring tradespeople, loyal customers, and thousands of Sandy Islanders. Usually holding a travel mug of coffee, dressed in head-to-toe denim, work boots, and at least three pens, a pocket knife, and a silver watch–Doug was a reliable man–ready to quietly repair and putter through your problems.
He will be incredibly missed by those who survive him: the love of his life, wife Beth Magnuson, his daughter Bethany Chisholm, stepdaughter Sandi Lemieux, her husband Kyle Williams and their children Ryleigh and Nathan Williams, stepson Trevor Lemieux, and an incredible community of friends and chosen family, including his best friend “Aunt” Mary Driscoll.
Never one for formalities, the family invites friends to celebrate Doug at calling hours on Wednesday, May 1st at Nichols Funeral Home, 187 Middlesex Ave., (Rte. 62), Wilmington, from 4:00-7:00 p.m.
Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, the family encourages friends to consider a donation to the Sandy Island Camp Improvement Fund leaving “Doug Chisholm” in the comment box. Funds will be used for something incredibly unglamorous and vital to the island’s infrastructure, just as Doug would have wanted. http://give.ymcaboston.org/team/551757
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