James Francis Kriss

1952 - 2022

Kriss, James Francis

October 16, 1952 - June 4, 2022

James Francis Kriss died peacefully in his home on Saturday, June 4, 2022, in Kent, WA at the age of 69. Known as "Tige" by his family and "Screaming Jimmy" at work, James was a hard ass with a soft underbelly, especially for his family.

James is survived by his children, Sara and George; grandchildren, Ellie and Fiona; and siblings, Lin, Connie, and Tim. He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Georgia; and brother, Steve.

James was born on October 16, 1952, in Omaha, NE to George Francis Kriss and Georgia Ann (Walker) Kriss. He attended St. Margaret Mary school and Archbishop Rummel High School. He was an extraordinary athlete, excelling in football, baseball, wrestling, and bowling. He was also sharp with a mind for numbers, winning trophies at Mathematics Field Day. At 17, James began his career with Ceco Concrete Construction in Omaha and work soon led him to upstate New York. While constructing a new hospital wing, James met Sheila, and within two years they married in Syracuse on February 8, 1975, during a winter storm. Sara was born 14 months later, and George came along 4 ½ years after that. When construction work dried up, Ceco boss Jim Osborne told James that Seattle was booming. While George was an infant, the family drove across the country and relocated to Kent, WA in the fall of 1981. James continued to work for Ceco for the next 22 years.

When work dwindled in the Pacific Northwest, James made another big move to an area booming with construction—Honolulu, Hawaii. There he worked with good friends Rick and Maegan Best and made new friends while exploring his new home. He tried poke and surfing and bought a condo on Waikiki Beach. He lived in Honolulu for 14 years, with a brief stint in Maui, and continued to work until 2016. His body took a beating from the decades of hard, physical labor.

In the fall of 2017, Sara and George went to Honolulu to bring their dad home to retire. The following year, James and his family fulfilled a long-held wish to purchase a property where they could all live together. It did not have the moat and electric fencing that James originally planned, but everyone had their separate living space within a 4-story home on Lake Meridian, just three docks down from Sara and George's childhood home. Although James and Sheila divorced in 1993, they had an amicable relationship, swapping the crossword puzzle from the shared newspaper. The family would occasionally get together for dinners, holidays, and birthdays, and James even let the grandkids who he endearingly called "booger-eaters," come downstairs to watch Tom and Jerry cartoons with him. James was a proud man; proud of his dedicated, long career, proud of his family, and proud of the legacy he leaves behind.

FUNERAL: Thursday, June 16th, at 1pm at Marlatt Funeral Home, 713 Central Ave. N., Kent, WA 98032, and will be live cast at https://vimeo.com/718458651/0d297144c2. All are welcome to attend and celebrate James' life. You may send flowers, or donations can be sent to The National AIDS Memorial.