James Walter Day

James Walter Day, 73, of Chester, Maryland, unexpectedly passed away on August 8, 2022. He was born on June 4, 1949 in Bellaire, Ohio, the son of the late Walter and Betty Howard Day. Jim grew up in Bellaire, Ohio and graduated from Ohio University. After college, he taught high school history and then joined the Navy. From there, he began his career in transportation engineering with the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, then eventually retired from the Washington Metro. Never liking being idle, in retirement he founded his own carpet-cleaning business, Prokleen Professional Carpet Care, which he sold in 2019 to begin his second retirement. Around 1980, Jim relocated to Maryland, first to the Baltimore area, then eventually to Kent Island on the Eastern Shore. During this time, he founded the Pittsburgh Steelers Fan Club of Baltimore (PSFCOB), which eventually was one of the largest in the country with over 7,000 members at its peak. The logo of PSFCOB was a Steelers emblem that incorporated red Chesapeake crabs. Members attributed the success of PSFCOB to Jim’s enthusiastic leadership and the humorous newsletters that he wrote and published himself. The annual road trip to Pittsburgh for a game and huge tailgate party were legendary. An avid boater, fisherman and crabber, he loved the Bay and his house on the Bay. He completely restored the fishing boat (the Bluegill) that he and his father used on Seneca Lake (OH) to catch bluegill and crappies and outfitted it for crabbing. He also built a crab steamer from an empty keg and a huge table on his deck for the frequent crab feasts that he held that was called Jim’s Creekside Bar & Crab Deck. He spent a lot of time with his sister and her husband on their sailboat in the Caribbean, where he fell in love with the island of St. John where he planned to spend this coming winter. A devoted son and beloved brother, uncle, and friend to many, he is missed more than he ever could have imagined. Jim sent his family and friends many pictures of the sunsets he took on the Bay – he always said, “Just one more.” He had a quick wit and was an animated storyteller. In the end, a boy who grew up in a town surrounded by steel mills and coal mines on the Ohio River ended up living on an island in the Chesapeake Bay that was his paradise. He will be so missed. He is survived by his sister, Sandra McCoy (née Day) and Sandra’s husband and great friend of Jim, Ray McCoy. Jim was very close to his nieces, Erin Madson (née McCoy) and Megan McCoy, along with Erin’s husband, Mark and their five children, Alyza, McCoy, Charlotte, Jane and Georgia and Megan’s husband, Mark Kramer (and Mark’s children, Alex, and Sarah). In addition, Jim was beloved by his stepfamily (the Davis family) for the past 20 years, Ken and Sharon, Cel and Rick, Mary Ann and Scott, Bill and Sally. Jim supported many conservation efforts. One of his favorite places to spend time with family and friends was St. Michaels, which is what drew his niece and her husband to have their wedding ceremony and reception there in 2018. Jim was a member of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum since 1995. Jim’s family asks that in lieu of flowers, you celebrate his love for the Bay by donating in his name to Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum online at https://1573.blackbaudhosting.com/1573/Annual-Fund or by check mailed to 213 N. Talbot Street, St. Michaels, MD 21663 (include note in memo line, “in memory of James Day”). His family is having a private service, then will host a Celebration of Life for family and friends in the near future.

James Walter Day

June 4, 1949 - August 8, 2022