James P. Irish

James P. Irish, 77, of Mt. Washington died on Thursday, May 31, 2018. He was born August 30, 1940 to Paul R. and Rosemary (Gibson) Irish in Buffalo, NY. He grew up in Bethlehem, PA and graduated from Moravian Academy before serving in the United States Air Force. He worked as a telecommunications engineer for Bell Telephone, now Verizon, until retiring. During his retirement he worked for several years at the Smithfield Street CVS. He is preceded in death by his bride of 37 years, Carolyn L. (Hooven) Irish, who recently passed away on March 20th of this year. Jim enjoyed taking in the city skyline, electronic gizmos of all kinds – especially those that could keep him advised of the weather, moving throughout the city both on foot and by all means of public transportation, and following the Pittsburgh sports teams. Redbeard's on Shiloh Street became a second home for him and Carolyn for nightly dinners and sporting events. He vacationed in various beach locations throughout his lifetime, wintering in Honolulu with his wife for the past several years. Jim possessed a unique sense of humor and enjoyed harassing family, friends, and waitstaff with his repertoire of bad jokes. He is survived by his children, Scott K. Irish of Arizona and Diane J. Irish, wife of Bernard L. Staub of Allentown, PA, as well as his step-children Michael Hoffner and his wife Dana of Gibsonia, Christopher Hoffner of Pittsburgh, Kathleen Hoffner of Dillsburg, and Jennifer Peri of Dallastown; brother Thomas Irish and his wife Karen of Christiansburg, VA, sister Joanne Knowles of Newark, DE, and nieces Jennifer Irish, wife of Robert Weiss of Blacksburg, VA, and Rebecca Irish of Baltimore, MD. He was also "Grandpa Jim" to William Haley, Michael & Logan Hoffner, and Audrey & Owen Peri. He is predeceased by his wife Carolyn, sister Judith Irish, brother-in-law Frederick Knowles, and first wife Suzann (Glass) Irish. Graveside services with military honors will be held at the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, 1158 Morgan Road, Bridgeville, PA on June 22, 2018. Both he and his wife Carolyn will be interred together at that time. Wm. Slater & Sons Funeral Home, 301 Virginia Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15211 (412)381-3345 is handling arrangements. Anyone wishing to attend the graveside service is welcome to meet at the funeral home at 10:15am for procession to the cemetery. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions can be made to Family Promise, an organization providing assistance to homeless families with children. https://familypromise.org/donate/