James T. Hultgren, age 63, of Brookfield, passed away on August 20, 2021, in Danbury Hospital. Jim was born in Bridgeport on July 2, 1958, to the late Robert and Edith (Grillo) Hultgren and had been a lifelong area resident. He was a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University and earned a master's degree from both the University of New Haven and Bay Path College. Jim was a Financial Manager for ASRC Federal although dedicated many of his professional years to EADS, DRS, Kaman, Pratt and Whitney, and Sikorsky.

In contrast to all the simple pleasures that filled his life with child-like contentment (frying scrapple on the stovetop, magnifying the sun such that it would burn messages into walking sticks and signs, arranging a miniature offensive front of plastic "army dudes" to meet his cat, Sophie, in battle), he bore an understated complexity. He could surprise you by shedding a tear while watching 'Rent' even if his favorite movie was 'The Town'. He could surprise you by lovingly, if not obsessively, recounting Sophie misadventures despite regular bribes to family members to get her out of his hair.  He was rough around the edges and often described as a curmudgeon yet somehow became a magnet to small children and creatures. With this magnetism, he could convert siloed apartment-complex dwellers into a patch-work family through the lure of wine, smoothies, green pickled tomatoes, and hot dogs. For someone who often sought solitude, the door was certainly always open.

Dad loved camping, metal detecting, gold panning, diamond mining, Civil War history, pickling, making pizzas, gardening, bowling, tubing down the river, flea markets, "busting chops", ordering Chinese food in the middle of making dinner, and enjoying the company of friends and family on the back patio.

Survivors include his beloved daughters, Kiely Hultgren (Thomas Baxter) of Hartford, and Jaime Hultgren Burt (Nicholas Burt) of New York, siblings, Robert Hultgren III and wife Linda, Debra Altemose and her husband Raymond, Gary Hultgren and his wife Kristin, and Dennis Hultgren, his best friends, Debbie Brown, Rick Averill, Tom Maher, and Barbara Kelly, former spouse Kim Davis, many nieces and nephews, and his beloved cat, Sophie. In addition to his parents, Jim was pre-deceased by his son, Patrick. Funeral services are private and have been entrusted to the Adzima Funeral Home- Stratford.