Obituary of James P. Tschinkel

James (Jim) P. Tschinkel, 93, of Delmar, NY, passed away peacefully on Friday, October 7, 2022 in The Villages, FL.

Born March 1, 1929 in Ridgewood, NY, Jim was the 13th child of Primus and Maria (Rohner) Tschinkel. Jim is predeceased by his beloved wife Joanne. He is survived by his loving family: children - Carol (Joe) Henry, Arlene (Bill) Pericak, David (Marybeth) Tschinkel, Diana (Michael) Swanson, Gerard (Jill) Tschinkel, and Kristin (Michael) Olson; fifteen grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Jim served two years in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was honored posthumously in Washington, DC in the Flags of Our Heroes ceremony as part of an Honor Flight on October 26th, 2022.

Mr. Tschinkel was a retired telephone company repair technician and installer. He enjoyed hiking, skiing, and snowshoeing into his 90’s. Jim was a member of the Catskill 3500 Club. At 82, Jim completed the 2,181-mile trek of the Appalachian Trail as a section hiker, often accompanied by his wife Joanne, family and friends. Many of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren have been influenced by his love of hiking and continue in his honor. He taught his six children how to ski and passed his enthusiasm of the sport on to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Jim  volunteered at the Adaptive Sports Foundation and was a ski instructor at Windham Mountain Resort in the Catskills.

For the last two years, Jim enjoyed living with his daughter and son-in-law in the warm Florida sun. Jim’s only surviving sibling, Conrad Tschinkel, passed away shortly after. A joint celebration of the brother’s lives is being planned for Saturday, June 17, 2023.  A memorial mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. at St. Pius X Church, 23 Crumitie Road, Loudonville, NY 12211. HTTPS://STPIUSXLOUDONVILLE.ORG

After the memorial mass, a celebration of life will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at The Desmond Crowne Plaza Hotel, 660 Albany Shaker Road, Albany, NY 12211 WWW.DESMONDHOTELSALBANY.COM

Interment of his ashes will be private.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Jim’s name to Appalachian Trail Conservatory www.appalachiantrail.org or Adaptive Sports Foundation www.adaptivesportsfoundation.org.