James Paul Chesney – Temecula, Calif.
On Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022, James Paul Chesney of Temecula, loving husband and father of five children, passed away at home at the age of 93. Jim was born on Feb. 20, 1929, in Donora to Stephen and Susannah Kral Chesney. He often told stories of growing up in Donora, which he called a United Nations neighborhood given the number of different countries and ethnicities represented by its immigrant citizens, all of whom got along. From 1946 to 1948, Jim served in the U.S. Army as part of the first occupation force (the 19th Infantry “Rock of Chickamauga” Regiment) immediately after World War II at Camp Chickamauga in Beppu, Kyushu, Japan. He received his degree in mining engineering from the University of Pittsburgh in 1952. After a near-miss accident in a coal mine, Jim changed careers to surveying and spent many years working in that field for various employers including CalTrans, Orange County and the City of Escondido. On Sept. 26, 1959, Jim married Marilyn Sue Daniel. They had three daughters, Kathy, Debbie and Mary; and twin sons, Mike and Mark. Jim retired from the City of Escondido in 1990 and pursued a second career teaching surveying courses at Palomar College, holding surveying seminars, and later on, substitute teaching. He was a calm, steadying influence on those around him, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do to help family and friends, by whom he was much beloved. His “dad humor” was a source of both giggles and groans. Jim was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Al and Bill; sisters, Jual, Margaret and Helen; daughter, Mary; and son, Mike. He is survived by his wife, Marilyn; daughters, Kathy (Jim) Wiechelman and Debbie Chesney; son, Mark (Lisa) Chesney; and grandchildren, Eddie and Kasie Crain, Matthew (Cambria) Chesney, Melissa Chesney, and Joseph, Gina, John and Krissy Wiechelman. A funeral Mass was held at St. Catherine’s church in Temecula, Calif., at noon Monday, Nov. 7, 2022, followed by burial at Oak Hill Memorial Park in Escondido, Calif., at 2:30 p.m.
