Trafford man always put family first

No matter the situation, James Chrise had an order of priorities — his wife, his sons and then himself.

“Dad would wear the same belt for 30 years, the same pair of shoes for 30 years, so me and my brother could have what we needed,” said his son, Tom Chrise.

That unconditional love showed when he retired early from Westinghouse Electric Co. to care for his wife, Rosella, when she was diagnosed with lung cancer, and when he worked to send his sons Tom and James to college.

“I called him my hero all the time because in my opinion he’s the epitome of the father model, father and husband model … He was just a great guy,” James Chrise said. “Everything he did he did it right.”

Mr. James R. Chrise, 81, of Trafford died Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020, at Canterbury Place.

Born in Homewood on Nov. 26, 1938, he was the son of Clarence and Alberta Chrise.

Growing up, Mr. Chrise easily found his niche in his sons’ lives when it came to baseball. Mr. Chrise quickly became involved with the Trafford Baseball Association when his son, James, starting playing. After coaching son Tom through his time on the team, Mr. Chrise stayed on for about 11 years.

“You can count on one hand how many games he lost,” Tom Chrise said. “(He was) that incredible.”

Tom Chrise, now a coach himself, said, “I try to think back on how dad coached us and I try to do things exactly the way he did it.”

When Mr. Chrise was not coaching or spending time with his family, he worked as a mechanical design draftsman for 35 years at Westinghouse Electric Co. He was also a member of the St. Regis Church in Trafford for more than 50 years.

James Chrise, who lived in Germany for a few years for work, said when his father had free time he would often come visit him and his family. They often traveled to Italy, Austria and Switzerland.

Still, despite traveling together and sharing a love of sports, James Chrise said, “I guess my favorite memories with him was anything that I did that would make him proud. And there were a lot of times that he gave me that feeling that I made him proud.”

Mr. Chrise was preceded in death by his wife, Rosella “Rose” (Fiorentino) Chrise.

In addition to his sons, Mr. Chrise is survived by several grandchildren.

Friends will be received from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday in the John M. Dobrinick Funeral Home, 702 Seventh St., Trafford. Additional visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. until parting prayers at 10:30 a.m. Friday in the funeral home.

A funeral Mass will be at 11 a.m. Friday in the St. Regis Church with the Rev. George Saletrik as celebrant and the Rev. James D. Tringhese as co-celebrant. Entombment will follow in the New St. Joseph Mausoleum, North Versailles.

Memorial donations can be made to St. Regis Development Fund, 517 Homewood Ave., Trafford, PA 15085, or the American Heart Association.