James Richard Demme

James R. (Jim) Demme passed away on Saturday, February 2, 2019 at his home in Prescott, AZ. Jim was born in Buffalo, NY on August 4, 1937 to the late Dominic J. Demme and Elberta (Grode) Demme. At the time of his death, Jim was an active member of St. Catherine Labouré RC Church in Chino Valley, AZ, and a proud former member of both the American Softball Association and NY State Umpires Association.

Jim grew up in Buffalo, graduating in 1955 from Kensington HS; it’s presumed he did so in a white sport coat and pink carnation, as he sang of it frequently. His early adult years featured him tooling around in his pride-and-joy 1956 Chevy until his growing family pushed him into station wagons; those then became the hallmark vehicles of long Sunday drives and many a road-trip vacation, as well as the object of much shoveling out whenever buried by a Buffalo snowfall. His years in Western New York were spent advancing in Data Processing and Management at Westinghouse. He presided over room-size computers, receiving many late-night, trouble-shooting phone calls yet also furnishing his children with punch card confetti, to their mischievous glee.

Jim’s family always came first, and he inculcated into them his abiding love of sports, starting with baseball. Not until decades later in his life did he completely retire from his much-relished role as umpire and undisputed boss of all things strikes, balls, outs and outcomes on softball and baseball diamonds all over the country. That life on the diamond is the reason all his children--and later his grandchildren--not only knew the words to “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” but knew that if the “home team” Yankees didn’t win, it was a shame. There was also bowling, golf, Buffalo Bills and Notre Dame football addictions/afflictions, and his one and only affinity for ice and frigid temperatures, the Buffalo Sabres. When he finally made it to the recliner to catch his breath, there were more sports – any sport – on the television for both perusing and snoozing. With eight children, it was easy to field a team for nearly any sport at family gatherings, which was another favorite pastime of his. Around the card table, his favored four-handed pinochle expanded when necessary to the cut-throat double-deck version so the whole gang could collectively sharpen their competitive wit and fangs…errr, teeth. And strong teeth were necessary, as it was Jim’s mission in life to live as gastronomically large as possible. He had the unerring ability of a bloodhound when it came to ice cream and all manner of Italian sweets, treats, and smorgasbords. He was also a singularly skilled crooner, accommodating any song he was singing – and he always was – to his nearly-octave range by changing key, switching to whistling, and finishing with humming without ever missing a beat. Is it any wonder he left generations of athletes, gastronomes, and musicians as his legacy?! Even Sunday brunches were enjoyed to the soundtrack of Camelot’s halcyon tale, but Jim’s driving earworm of “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” ultimately took him, Ann, and the younger half of the family out west to Arizona, in August, 1983.  

Wanderlust was as much a lure for Jim as the desert. He traversed the country, working in Management Information Systems for the State of Arizona first, then in Maryland, and finally Nevada. He used vacations and busman’s umpiring holidays to set foot in every one of the 50 states. He was always planning the next interstate driving excursion, intriguing cruise, or international adventure. Jim delighted in mastering carnival game skills, borne of his days at Ontario’s Crystal Beach Amusement Park and practiced everywhere he traveled, from Boomtown in Reno to International Drive in Orlando. There was not a single grandchild left lacking in the plush captures of his superior claw crane prowess. He and Ann regularly enjoyed lighthearted expeditions to the nearby casinos, never gaming the house but just enjoying the game. And the ride there was half the fun…for him. The mountain roads were an open invitation to throttle down, gear up, and test the engine and handling of his latest automobile.

While always available for parental insight, Jim quietly waited upon an invitation as he happily watched his children fledge in much the same way he had modeled Flying through life…or to the Moon. Each achieved exponential potential in his eyes as they soared through college and beyond, flinging themselves far across the world, ever honing and expanding his talented team. His beloved children and their families remained his greatest pride and joy; he and Ann celebrated both their 40th and 50th wedding anniversaries surrounded by the family he so treasured.

Like the eagle of whose wings he sang in church, Jim ultimately returned to nest where he felt most at home: Arizona. Until this month, that is, when his dogged and devoted life of hard work, vast energy, and boundless love was rewarded with the freedom to fly unfettered, borne “on the breath of dawn, and shining like the sun.” That same sun glittered the water of which King Arthur spoke, during many a Sunday brunch, when he could have only been describing Jim as “one of what we all are…Less than a drop in the great blue motion of the sunlit sea. But, it seems, some of the drops sparkle. Some of them DO sparkle!”

Jim is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Ann (née Getz) and all of their eight children, Bobbie Demme-San Filippo (David) of Winter Springs, FL, Dominic J. Demme (Patti) of Ellicott City, MD, Richard A. Demme (Linda) of Pittsford, NY, Chris D. Demme of Burlington Flats, NY, Jacqueline A. Bish (Michael) of Tempe, AZ, Timothy J. Demme of Prescott, AZ, Janine E. Krzmarzick (Leon) of Chandler, AZ and Gregory J. Demme (Elizabeth) of Minot, ND; his 16 grandchildren, Cerise Sweezey (Michael), Giselle San Filippo, Sara Demme, Anne Marie Demme, Matthew Demme, Christopher Demme, Katie Santos (Hugo), Anthony Demme, Daniel Bish, Capriana Bish, Dominic Krzmarzick, Cynthia Krzmarzick, Cameron Krzmarzick, Nathan Demme, Nicole Demme, and Naomi Demme; and his great-granddaughter Mayara Santos. Jim is also survived by his brother Russell Demme (Susan) of Buffalo, NY as well as many nieces and nephews; he was predeceased by his sister Jane Klins, 2008 (Albert Klins, 1999).

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association or directly to St. Catherine Labouré RC Church, PO Box 152, Chino Valley, AZ 86323.