James J. "Coach Rig" Righeimer

James J. ?Coach Rig? Righeimer, age 80, of Lincolnshire, passed away on March 19, 2013. He was a coach and teacher in Chicago and the North Shore for over 45 years. Beloved husband of the late Therese Kathleen nee Redican; loving dad of Mary Ellen (Tom) Rucks, Jim (Lene), Brian (Vicki), Laura (Chris) Janssen and Jeannie (Doug) Balsam; cherished "Poppy" of Brianne Rucks (Jason) Van Hemert, Chris (Nikki) and Alex Rucks, angel Rebecca Grace, Morgan, Ellie and Katherine Righeimer, Stephanie, Angela, Vanessa and Austin Righeimer, Christian, Quinn and Tynan Janssen, Mira, Petrea and Alexa Balsam; great-grandfather of Celia and Elise Van Hemert and Lyla Rucks; dear uncle of many nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by his parents Mary and Harry Righeimer, brother Jack Righeimer and sister Kay Breslin. James Righeimer, 1932-2013High school football coach believed in sports' potential as a stepping stone to higher educationBy Graydon Megan, Special to the TribuneMarch 26, 2013James Righeimer was an inspiring and demanding high school coach and teacher who saw athletics as a path to college for students."We probably had 30 players who went on to earn scholarships to college," said Joe Sassano, who was head football coach at Chicago's Weber High School in 1959 when he hired Mr. Righeimer as his lead assistant and line coach. "Many of those were linemen he had worked with."Mr. Righeimer left Weber, which has since closed, in 1965 to become head coach of Mendel Catholic High School in Chicago, also since closed. After a year there, he joined the staff of Highland Park High School, where he coached football, wrestling and track for about 20 years and taught driver education for about 30 years before retiring in the mid-1990s.Mr. Righeimer, 80, died of congestive heart failure Tuesday, March 19, at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, his son Brian said. He was a longtime resident of Lincolnshire.Mr. Righeimer grew up in Chicago and played football at St. Philip Basilica High School on the city's West Side. He attended St. Joseph's College in Rensselaer, Ind., on a football scholarship."The way my dad was able to go to college and could afford it was through football," his daughter Mary Ellen Rucks said. "He helped a lot of kids go to college through athletics."But his scholarship didn't cover all his college expenses, so Mr. Righeimer worked at a number of jobs in college, including giving haircuts to fellow students, providing laundry services and working in the school's cafeteria."He told us he took a pay cut to take his first teaching and coaching job at St. Ignatius in Chicago," his son said.At Highland Park, Mr. Righeimer ? "Coach Rig" as he was called ? was in charge of conditioning athletes."Nobody was better than he was at getting guys in shape," said Domenic Poeta, who met Mr. Righeimer at a summer conditioning camp when Poeta was in sixth grade."He was the guy who got the football players and wrestlers ready," said Poeta, who went on to wrestle for Highland Park and later helped Mr. Righeimer coach the Highland Park Little Giants, a program for wrestlers ages 5 to 14."He set high goals for everybody, and everybody wanted to make him happy," Poeta said. "You never saw a kid from Highland Park run out of gas ? not when he was in charge."After retiring from Highland Park, Mr. Righeimer spent 10 years with the Cook County Sheriff's Office, much of it working with young people."He was working with kids in boot camps," his son said, adding that his father's work also included office work in the Skokie courthouse and with small groups of offenders picking up roadside trash.Mr. Righeimer also worked for many years as an official, mostly refereeing high school football and basketball games.He is also survived by daughters Jeannie Balsam and Laura Janssen; another son, Jim; 17 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.His wife, Therese, died in 2011 after 55 years of marriage.Services were held.Copyright © 2013 Chicago Tribune Company, LLC