Jimmy Cacchiotti left for his final journey on June 24, 2021, surrounded by his loving wife and daughter. Born in Winthrop in 1956, to Vincent Cacchiotti and Christine (Faiello) Grant, Jimmy spent his early years enjoying many happy gatherings with his large extended family and relatives from East Boston. A longtime resident of Melrose, Jimmy graduated from Melrose High and Bentley University, where he studied accounting and went on to build a successful career as a talented buyer broker in the automotive industry, finally settling into his most favorite position as respected auction manager at Lexus of Watertown, which he held for over 10 years.

Jimmy loved the ocean and spent many memorable summers on Cape Cod, where he met his wife of 43 years, whom he considered his soulmate. An avid boater, Jimmy enjoyed navigating the waters off the New England Coast where he spent blissful summer vacations with his family charting boat trips from Gloucester, the Islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, Block Island, and Montauk off the coast of Long Island.

Jimmy had a most adventurous spirit and a deep abiding love and respect for people. Some of Jimmy’s most memorable adventures were cliff diving in Bonaire and the Cayman Islands where he met the local islanders and experienced the beauty of reef life leading to his love of underwater photography. Boating and diving were always his passion and Jimmy built many long term relationships around his love of the water. His love of boating was only surpassed by his love for his friends, and he was thrilled and honored to help crew, chart and navigate some very challenging trips that encompassed the entire East Coast from Massachusetts to Florida and down to the Panama Canal, earning him the name “Jimmy Wahoo” after the great Wahoo fish they encountered, and also “The Navigator” for his finesse in charting the entire Atlantic Coastline.

Jimmy’s boat trips and expertise in nautical navigation on the open water became legendary, but his greatest joy in life was his daughter Nicole, whom he loved, adored and relished spending time with, sharing his passion for cooking, adventures in boating, and long days swimming in the ocean at the beach. Jimmy’s proudest moments came when he had the chance to watch Nicole develop her own sense of adventure, after passing along his love of the water and knowledge of boating and navigation to her.

Jimmy is the beloved husband of Colleen (Harquail) and cherished father of Nicole. He is also survived by his loving mother Christine, sisters Anne and Doreen, brother Roger and his partner Stephen Kennard, his loyal black lab Cassie and his large extended family of adoring mother-, brother- and sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. Jimmy also has many loyal friends and colleagues, and he will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Jimmy will always be in our thoughts, and forever in our hearts. A memorial service to honor Jimmy’s life and legacy will be announced at a later date.