James “Chip” Sorce

James “Chippy” Sorce passed away peacefully at home with his family at his bedside on Sunday, January 8, 2023.  He was 94 years old. He was born in Garfield, the son of Paul and Vincenza Sorce. Chippy graduated from Garfield High School.  His father had passed away when he was just one year old, and he worked any chance he got to help his mom as she was widowed and raising seven children.

Chippy was in the US Army and served his country proudly. He was a Korean War veteran with the First Cavalry Division. He was awarded the Korean Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars for valor, the United Nations Service Medal, and the Combat Infantry Badge before being honorably discharged in 1952.

Chippy married Joan Augustowski, who lived just a few blocks away in Garfield.  The two, with many others, always hung out at Babe’s Sweet Shop on Jewel Street in Garfield. When Chippy went into the Army he carried a photo of himself and Joan standing on a lakeside beach along Route 23.  They married on June 27, 1953 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Garfield and honeymooned at Brookdale on the Lake in Scotrun, Pennsylvania.  After starting out in Garfield they moved to Wayne in 1965. They enjoyed a loving and devoted marriage of sixty-nine years that was blessed with one son James and a daughter Jacalyn and four grandchildren Ashley, Nicole, Gina, and James.

Chippy and Joan were parishioners of Our Lady of Consolation Church in Wayne.

Chippy was owner of S&S Painters and Decorators in Wayne for 40 years.  He was a hard-working man that was dedicated to his family. He was always thinking and often quiet in that thought. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and working outdoors – especially around the yard.

He and Joan were able to enjoy travel all over the world including: family vacations to Brookdale on the Lake in Scotrun, PA, Hawaii two times, Aruba, St Thomas, and Sanibel Island in Florida. For many years they also enjoyed the companionship of their English Setter-Collie mix Freckles, Frisky the cat, and a white outdoor bunny named Peter.

He was the loving husband of Joan for sixty-nine years; devoted father of James S. Sorce and his wife Patricia of Sparta, Jacalyn Sorce Potter and her husband Kenny of Oak Ridge; he was the cherished grandfather of Nicole Sorce, Gina Sorce, James Wamback and his fiancé Kaitlyn Wilson, and Ashley Wamback Lobban and her husband Robert; he was also predeceased by all his siblings: Samuel Sorce, Josephine Lech, Charles Sorce, Paul Sorce, Leonard Sorce, and Mary Darata.