James Harrington

Born in Chicago, July 11th, 1952, “Big Jim”, as he was known to all his family and friends, passed away Monday, April 16th, 2018, in Des Plaines, Illinois. He is survived by his son, Aron Harrington, and his granddaughter, Kaylee Harrington; mother, Elizabeth Harrington; brother, Scott Harrington (Jackie); sister, Karen Kunz (Ed); and his fiancé, Rene Lawell.  He was preceded in death by his father, Lou Harrington, Jr.

Big Jim’s passions were his friends and family, music, living life to the fullest, traveling on his motorcycle, and good food. He shared his gifts and loved to make people smile, especially with his music.  Jim’s vocal and guitar talents carried him far with his bands throughout the 50 plus years of playing Rock and Roll music with his best friend, Kel Kissamis, sitting behind him on the drums for all those years, including rocking the stage for the Blues Brothers movie premiere at the Chicago Theatre in 1980.  Jim’s inspirations were The Beatles, Elvis, Chuck Berry, and Michael Parks.  He knew music was good for the soul.

Jim was a chef for 30 plus years for some of the best restaurants in Illinois, bringing his culinary skill and charm to places he worked such as Bob Chinn’s Crab House, Henrici’s, and helped open CrawDaddy Bayou, The Key Wester, and his own restaurant, CJ Checkers, in Des Plaines, Illinois, after getting his start at the Black Fox Restaurant of the Rolling Meadows Holiday Inn, under the mentorship of Chef Willie Coleman.

Jim was a traveler and he loved motorcycling. He traveled by motorcycle to many states in the US and had many adventures on his Kawasaki traveling with his friends and family.  Some favorite trips included South Dakota, the UP, Memphis, North Carolina, and Kentucky. He bought his first motorcycle, a Honda, when he was young, even before he had his first car.  He and his best friend, Bob Rife, took trips on their cycles and once even needed to be rescued by Jim’s Dad.

Jim left this earth quietly, but touched so many people with his zest for life, witty charm, and his beautiful singing voice.  He was such a talented and beautiful man, surrounded in life by many he loved and whom loved him.