SOUTH PORTLAND – James S. Kriger died unexpectedly at Southern Maine Medical Center on Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. He had been a resident at the Monarch Center in Saco since June of this year. Jim was born March 9, 1931, in Portland, the son of the late Lewis H. Kriger and Gertrude Seiger Kriger.
When he was a young child the family moved to Fort Fairfield when his father took the position of principal and athletic coach at Fort Fairfield high School and the family remained there until Jim was a junior in high school. They returned to Portland when Lewis joined his father-in-law in business at S. Seiger & Co., and Portland Machinery Exchange on Portland Pier. Jim went to Deering High School for his senior year and graduated in 1948. He then went to Hebron Academy for a year before entering the University of Maine at Orono from which he graduated with a business degree in 1953. Immediately upon graduation he was drafted into the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C. While there he was introduced by a mutual friend to Barbara Karesh, a local resident. A year after they met, they were married in Columbia on June 12, 1955, as soon as he was discharged from the service. They drove to California on their honeymoon in their new Chevy Bel Air convertible. He was to continue his interest in cars, and passed that on to two of his sons and they often attended local car shows together. On their return to Maine, they settled in South Portland, where they have lived since. Jim went into business with his father on Portland Pier. Largely because of the influence of his father-in-law, Coleman Karesh, a professor of law at the University of South Carolina, he decided to go to law school at the University of Maine, School of Law which was then located on High Street and graduated from there in 1963. Jim went on to practice law in association with several local attorneys, including Robert C. Robinson with whom he founded the firm Robinson, Kriger & McCallum along with John McCallum. In 1983, the family’s building at 12 Portland Pier was renovated and the firm relocated there and remains there along with their adjoining building at 22 Portland Pier. In his practice Jim traveled frequently to Aroostook County and became close friends with many of the County attorneys. He enjoyed canoe trips on the Allagash, ski trips to Quebec and the annual Aroostook Bar picnic. He was made an honorary member of that group and had always considered himself a “County boy.” Jim was a member of Temple Beth El, the Maine Bar Association and a volunteer with Pine Tree Legal and volunteered at St. Vincent’s soup kitchen along with his friend and partner Bob Robinson. He had a love of animals and had fed feral cats on Portland Pier until they were rescued and he enjoyed taking his “granddogs” for walks. His 18 year old kitty, Maybelline, will miss him.
He was predeceased by his parents. Jim is survived by Barbara, his wife of 58 years; his three sons, Andrew of Cape Elizabeth, Samuel and his wife, Karen, of Norway, and David of Tallahassee, Fla. He is also survived by his loving grandchildren, Lindsey, Shannon, William, Rachel, and Jared; and his sister, Irma Volk of New York and her children, Shelley and Jeff.
Funeral Services will be held noon Wednesday, Oct. 23, at Temple Beth El. Interment will immediately follow at Temple Beth El Cemetery in Portland. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Alzheimers Disease Association U.S. Route 1, Suite 2C Scarborough, ME 04074; or Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, P.O. Box 336, Westbrook, ME 04098.Online condolences may be given to the family at www.jonesrichandhutchins.com.
James S. Kriger
