Final Salute

On March 3, 2023, James (Jim) A. Totin, loving husband and an O.G. girl dad to three strong women, passed away at age 80.

Jim was born October 30, 1942 in Duquesne, PA to Andrew (Andras) and Mary (Kovatch) Totin. He graduated from Norwin High School in 1961 and earned a bachelor’s from the University of LaVerne in 1979 (while working full time in the Navy). In August, 1974, he married Margaret (Peggy) Collins. They raised three daughters, Mary, Cathleen and Theresa.

He served in the US Navy Seabees from 1961 to 1984, with various tours in Vietnam, the Philippines and Diego Garcia, retiring as a decorated Senior Chief. After retiring, he founded businesses to support his family in the lighting and plastics industry, including Acrylic Design & Fabrication in Virginia Beach in 1987, a successful business for three decades. He supported vocational education by training and hiring students not normally given opportunities and opening doors for them. He loved working with his hands and teaching others the value of a strong work ethic. After his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, he and Peggy closed the business, moved to the Chicago area and travelled the world. For the next six years, they took every opportunity to make the best out of the time they had, visiting Europe (Ireland, England, France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia), Australia (where they saw Carmen at the Sydney Opera House and ate his beloved “carpet bagger” steak that he craved from his R&R days in Vietnam), and Asia (Hong Kong, Vietnam, China and Thailand). More importantly, they spent time together with each other, their daughters and seven grandchildren, whom Jim adored with each molecule of his being.

Besides being in love with Peggy from the moment “I laid eyes on her” and instilling his three daughters with independence, strength and love, he was known for his electric baby blue eyes, quick wit, his infectious smile, and his kind and compassionate spirit. His last gift was to donate his amazing brain to the Biggs Institute to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.

Jim was preceded in death by his father, Andrew, his mother, Mary, his four siblings William, Ernest, Mary Jane (Payne), and Margaret (Lloyd). He is survived by his wife, Margaret “Peggy,” his three children, Mary Totin Schaus (David), Cathleen Totin Burrell (Thomas), and Theresa Wilson (Benjamin), nieces and nephews, his seven grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Celebrations of life will take place May 13 in the Tidewater area and June in the Chicagoland area, and donations can be made to Cure Alzheimer’s (www.curealz.org) and/or the Biggs Institute (https://makelivesbetter.uthscsa.edu/biggsdonate) in his name. Jim wants you to be a part of the solution, so please donate generously in lieu of flowers.

Published by Legacy Remembers from Mar. 18 to Mar. 26, 2023.