James Joseph Ledwith, Jr.

Dr. James Joseph Ledwith, Jr. passed away on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, surrounded by family, from complications after a bicycle accident on June 19, 2024. 

Jim was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, on August 13, 1957, to Joan Angela Ledwith and James Joseph Ledwith, Sr. The third of six children, Jim and his family moved frequently during his childhood. They lived in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, before his parents eventually settled in Cape Cod, MA. Jim made a point of taking his children to the Cape to spend time with family -- visits that generally included a lobster roll.

Jim attended the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg, VA, graduating with a degree in chemistry in 1979. He went on to get his M.D. at the Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine), before he completed his family medicine residency at the Toledo Hospital in Ohio. Jim then embarked on a decades-long career as a family physician in a rural area on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula. Shortly after moving to the area, Jim opened his own practice in Tappahannock, VA. He quickly became a beloved member of the community, known for his warm demeanor and his willingness to spend as much time with each patient as necessary. His devotion to his practice and his patients often meant long nights, busy weekends, housecalls to those in need, and endless charting, but Jim found joy and meaning in his work. He loved what he did. During his time in Tappahannock, Jim also served as the medical director for Health Management Company, and he founded a free clinic to better serve the under- and uninsured, which has since been renamed the Ledwith-Lewis Free Clinic. In addition, Jim was a dedicated and active member of the Tappahannock Memorial United Methodist Church. 

Jim moved to Massachusetts in 2005 to be closer to his aging parents. There, he became a member of the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s faculty, serving as the director of the family medicine residency program from 2008 to 2016. Jim’s talent and passion for teaching and love of medicine shone through during his time with the family medicine residency program and the medical school. He remained devoted to this patient population, serving as medical director for the Worcester Evening Free Medical Services Program. After years of witnessing the opioid epidemic wreak havoc on his community, he determined to become an expert in pain management. Jim gave dozens of talks across the nation on the treatment of addiction and pain management, and even after retiring from his primary care practice Jim continued to consult for the Massachusetts Consultation Service for Treatment of Addiction and Pain. 

Jim had received numerous awards recognizing his passion for service and teaching over his career. These included the UMass Chan Medical School Chair’s Award for Excellence in Service (twice), the Community Clinician of the Year from Massachusetts Medical Society, the Community Service Award from the Worcester District Medical Society, and the Teacher of the Year Award from UMass Fitchburg Family Medicine Residency. 

In recent years, Jim received several notable recognitions for his decades of service to his patients and their families. In 2023, he received the Family Physicians Who Are Changing Our World Award from the Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC), a recognition for his “service and advocacy for responsible care for patients who depend on opioid medication” as well as his leadership in caring for the uninsured. And this coming February, William & Mary, will award Jim the Civic and Humanitarian Leadership Award, the second iteration of an annual award issued to “those who are significantly improving or enhancing the lives of others.”

Jim’s primary joy was his family. He was an adoring father and a doting grandfather. During his time in Massachusetts, he was known for his penchant for impromptu trips down to New York to visit his daughter, Allison, and even to Charlottesville, VA, to see his son, Michael. In 2006, he married Lauren Arms, taking in Lauren’s daughter Julia as his own and integrating himself into Lauren’s family in Franklin, MA. Jim cherished serving as a father figure to Julia (and remained a loving member of Lauren’s family) even after Lauren passed in 2017, following a courageous battle with breast cancer. In 2022, Jim married Anne Madigan, and Jim quickly became a beloved “grandpop” to Anne’s eight grandchildren in the Phoenix, Arizona area. His partial retirement, in 2023, allowed for even more time with family, and he had taken full advantage, spending time with each of his children and visiting his siblings as part of a cross-country road trip only weeks before his passing. Jim had looked forward to decades of more family time, travel, adventure, volunteering, and dinners out alongside his beloved Annie.

Jim was predeceased by his parents and his wife Lauren Arms Ledwith. He was the beloved husband of Anne Madigan, the loving father of Michael Ledwith and his wife Jessica, Allison (Ledwith) Glubiak and her husband Zachary, and Julia (Arms) Scanlon and her husband Jonathan; the cherished stepfather to Patrick Madigan (Ruth), Sean Madigan (Robynne), Megan Opitz (Bradley), Allison Abbott (Michael); the devoted brother to Karen Dedman (Scott), Kevin Ledwith (Beth), Irene Ledwith (Neill), Brian Ledwith (Sujata), Jennifer Gerkin (Jim); the adoring “grandpop” to eleven (soon to be twelve) grandchildren; and the sweet uncle to numerous nieces and nephews. 

A funeral Mass will be held Wednesday, July 24th, 2024 at 10am PST (1pm EST) at the Conventual Church of Our Lady of the Angels at the Franciscan Renewal Center located at 5802 East Lincoln Drive, Scottsdale, AZ. The Mass will be live-streamed to the public via this link. Jim’s ashes will be buried in Franklin, MA, later this year, to be accompanied by a celebration of life with his personal and professional families. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Ledwith-Lewis Free Clinic, 317 Duke St, Tappahannock, VA 22560, or to the Franklin Food Pantry, 341 West Central Street, Franklin, MA 02038. 

Funeral Mass livestream link: https://youtube.com/live/eli_BD6wURM