James Chandler Rich

Cmdr. James Chandler Rich died peacefully surrounded by his children on January 17, 2025, at the age of 92. He was born to the late Earl Eiler Rich and Mildred Chandler Rich. Jim is survived by his children: Susan C. Rich of Bay City, MI, Robert S. Rich (Tamara James) of Columbus, OH, Jennifer Rich of Euclid, OH, and Elizabeth M. R. (John) Hartke; grandchildren: Amanda Lynn Rich (Chris Walker), and Lee (Brittney) Rich all of Columbus, OH; and great grandchildren: Allison, Hailey and Benjamin Rich all of Columbus, OH. Jim is predeceased by his wife of 65 years, The Rev. Nancy Virginia Willis Rich. Jim was born and raised in Vivian, WV. 

He graduated from Welch High School, Welch, WV where he was a standout basketball player. Jim continued his basketball career on scholarship, and received a B.A., Geology from Washington and Lee University after which time he completed Naval Officer Candidate School followed by Communications School. He served as Communications Officer on the destroyer, USS Meredith, 1955 - 1957. He then received a B.S., Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV. While there, he joined the Naval Reserve, where he remained active for over 25 years. It was also in Morgantown that Jim met Nancy Willis and on August 22, 1959, they were married and then moved to Cleveland Heights, Ohio where Jim was a Systems Engineer with IBM in Cleveland and Akron, OH for 30 years. They raised a family in a wonderful home. After daughter, Jennifer, was diagnosed with intellectual disability, Jim was one of the co-founders of East Side Ministry, a Sunday School Program for those with developmental disabilities that continues to this day. Jim loved spending time with family, and his eyes always lit up especially when Nancy or daughter, Jennifer, walked in the room. 

For decades Jim researched Pearl Harbor, with a focus on the location of naval vessels before, during, and after the attack. He eventually collected a considerable library, traveled to Washington, DC to comb through the National Archives to decipher who knew what when, as well as making the trek to Pearl Harbor a number of times to mark the anniversary. He was meticulous in all he did, whether gathering and recording detailed information about Pearl Harbor or keeping track of bills and finances or walking so carefully using his walker that he never fell. He liked charts and maps and often took circuitous routes to explore different ways to get from one place to another, often making the kids in the back seat wonder why it was taking so long to get home from church. He was a faithful church goer, whether it was St. Paul’s East Cleveland, Trinity Cathedral, or any of the number of parishes where Nancy was working. He loved all kinds of music, singing tenor in many community and church choirs, taking the family to the Akron Civic Theatre for silent movies accompanied by organist Gaylord Carter or traveling with Nancy to New York City to see the original cast of Purlie on Broadway. In 2014 Jim was inducted into the McDowell County, WV Sports Hall of Fame.

 A memorial service will be held at 11:00am on Monday, February 24, 2025, with visitation at 10:00am at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (2230 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 48115), The Very Rev. Bernard J. Owens celebrating and preaching. Memorial donations can be made to The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio (www.dohio.org), New Avenues to Independence, Inc. (www.newavenues.net) or North Coast Community Homes (www.ncch.org).