On Saturday, May 29, 2021, James W. Petrie, loving husband and father of two children, passed away at the age of 81.

Jim was born in February 1940 in Chicago, Illinois to John F. Petrie, Jr. and Margaret C. Petrie. During his professional career, he worked in the computing and data processing fields as a project manager. He was a Project Management Professional and earned his Master’s Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University.

On May 12, 1962, he married the love of his life Georgene (“Gigi”) Agnes Mitchell. During their 59 years of marriage, they raised two sons, Jim Jr. and Bill.

Outside of work Jim was a member of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA) - Lombard chapter and was the Lead in the “Chicago Fire” barbershop quartet. It was during this time he grew his famous “Handlebar Moustache.”

Jim also had a passion for carpentry and fine woodworking. If you look around his house and those of his family, you will see many touches of his work including clocks, furniture and cradles for their grandchildren. He was also quite the handyman. There was almost no home project he could not tackle, including building a brick wall and archway in their current house.

He retired in 2001 and since then he enjoyed mastering his woodworking skills, traveling with Gigi both domestically and internationally (including 25 cruises), cycling, playing tennis and racquetball, volunteering with many organizations and spending quality time playing card games with family and friends.

Jim was preceded in death by his father, John; mother, Margaret and brother, John Jr.

He is survived by his wife, Gigi; children, Jim Jr. and his wife Christie of Houston, Texas and Bill and his wife Sandy of Franklin, Tennessee; grandchildren, Kelsey and her husband Austin, Trey, Mitch and Drew; several nephews and many extended family members.

The family requests donations may be made in Jim’s name, to:

American Heart Association (https://www.heart.org/)

or

American Lung Association (https://www.lung.org/).

Jim’s wish was that you take some time to go out for dinner or ice cream to spend quality time with your loved ones, as family was so important to him. Embrace each day as you don’t know what tomorrow has in store.