James “Jim” F. Companion (83) of Wheeling, WV, passed away peacefully at his home on September 18, 2024, following a hard-fought battle with cancer. Supported by his loving family and devoted friend, Reno DiOrio, Jim finished the race strong.
Born James Francis Compagnone on July 29, 1941, in McKees Rocks, PA, the only son of Frank Dominick Compagnone and Mary Ventomiller Compagnone, Jim moved with his parents and sister Fran to Wheeling in 1950, and soon met his life-long pal, Tony Figaretti, on the baseball field.
Jim attended Triadelphia High School, where he excelled in academics (graduating as class co-valedictorian in 1959), in leadership as class Vice President, and on the athletic field in varsity football, baseball, and track, culminating with playing in the OVAC All-Star Football Game. During the summers, he teamed up with friend Bill Hanna to sell aluminum siding, awnings, and replacement windows for the family business, Companion Products Co. Jim was captain of the varsity football and baseball teams at Bethany College, from which he was graduated Magna cum laude with a B.A. in Economics in 1963. Bethany inducted him into its Athletic Hall of Fame with the 1981-82 class, and Jim presided over and served on the Bethany College Board of Trustees for many decades.
Following his graduation with honors from the University of Michigan Law School in 1966, Jim returned to Wheeling to practice law and soon thereafter married Linda “Lin” Blackmon Companion, the mother of his 5 children: Christie, Cathie, James, David, and Beth. With his father’s encouragement, Jim legally changed the spelling of Compagnone to conform to the English pronunciation prior to running for election to the West Virginia House of Delegates, where he served from 1969-1970. He also served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves from 1967 to 1972.
Jim was appointed as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia from1973 to 1976. He then joined Wheeling’s oldest law firm, currently named Schrader, Companion, Duff & Law, where he spent the next 47 years. He never retired. In fact, until his cancer diagnosis, Jim almost never missed a day of work. Even when his health had failed him, Jim’s primary goal was to get back to the office.
Jim was devoted to his family and maintained a warm relationship with Lin despite their divorce. In 1996, Jim married Marilyn Purpura and welcomed her son Mike. Together, Marilyn and Jim enjoyed attending their children’s weddings, having grandchildren, traveling to the Outer Banks and Hawaii, and raising their beloved dogs. After Marilyn’s death in 2010, Jim was blessed to meet and marry Rita Lazarus, who brought with her to the family fold not only her own daughters, Kim and Shannon and their families but also the Lazarus clan, including Beth, Randy, Amy, and Bob and a collective of 17 grandchildren. Jim and Rita were gracious hosts of backyard barbeques and formidable competitors in trivia and cornhole. Life was centered around family and friends as they spent the last 14 years of their lives together.
A soldier in the courtroom and an avid amateur historian, Jim took inspiration from heroes named and unnamed of the grand battles of the American Civil War and World War II. Persevering and stalwart in the face of adversity or pain, Jim exemplified the qualities of duty, honor, and diligence and earned great respect among his peers. Grateful for the mentorship of Dr. Forrest H. Kirkpatrick, Jim in turn mentored many Bethany graduates and younger lawyers and fostered the education, endeavors, and careers of his children and grandchildren. The James F. Companion Leadership Institute at The Linsly School is a fitting legacy.
A humble man, Jim never bragged of his many accolades and achievements. Even his children often only learned of an award or honor from news reports. Jim was a member of too many organizations to catalog, but a few highlights include the Blue Pencil Club, Fourth Circuit Judicial Conference, Ohio County Bar Association (President), Beta Theta Pi (President), Dimmeydale Neighborhood Association (Treasurer), the N.D.W.V. Chapter of the Federal Bar Association (Treasurer), and St. Michael’s Catholic Church. Over his career, Jim zealously represented many clients pro bono, most notably the inmates at the West Virginia Penitentiary at Moundsville in a class action habeas corpus action asserting the conditions of confinement constituted cruel and unusual punishment and resulting in the closure of the over 120-year-old facility.
Jim cherished his many friendships, including his lunch group, Reno DiOrio, Jim Seibert, and Fred Stamp; daily breakfasts and trips to Pittsburgh Steelers games with Art Schmitt; and an after-work Coors Light with Richard Humphrey and Chris Castellucci.
Jim is survived by his sister Francine Compagnone Schmitt of Phoenix, AZ; children: Christine (Rob) Companion Varnado of Mt. Pleasant, SC; Cathleen (Scott) Companion Morgan of Haddonfield, NJ; James (Kim) Francis Companion, Jr. of Charlotte, NC; Elizabeth (Mike) Companion Johnson of Wheeling; stepchildren Michael (Betsy) Purpura of Newport Beach, CA.; Kimberly (Chris) Smith Castellucci, of Wheeling, and Shannon (Greg) Smith Flaherty of Redondo Beach, CA; grandchildren Bennett Louise Companion, Mollie Cate Morgan, James “J” Francis Companion, III, Davis Bratton Varnado, Finley “Finn” James Morgan, Anne Wilson Varnado, and Levi Jack Johnson; step-grandchildren Kate Purpura; Orlando “Lundy”, Michael, and Mia Castellucci; and Isaac “Ike”, Piper, and Vaughan Flaherty; nieces Lisa Marie Schmitt of Wheeling and Carla (Herb) Schmitt Booth of Perkasie, PA; nephew Artie B. Schmitt of Phoenix, AZ; and cousin Marian Spadaccia Marnich of Pittsburgh, PA.
He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Mary Rita Tofaute Companion; wife, Marilyn Jordan Purpura Companion; son, David Wilson Companion; step-mother Pearl Newman Compagnone; brother-in-law Arthur B. Schmitt; and cousins Angela Spadaccia Ciccone and Lucille Spadaccia Renschler.
Jim’s family will welcome his friends and colleagues to join them at a celebration of Jim’s life on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at the McCormick Stables, 232 Equine Drive (Washington Farms) in Wheeling, starting at 1:00 p.m. with a reception to follow, ending at 4:00 p.m.
Arrangements by Kepner Funeral Home, 900 National Road, Wheeling, WV 26003 (304-232-2732).
Jim and his family wish to acknowledge the excellent care provided by Nancy Federoff, Valley Hospice, and IC Care during his final months. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jim’s memory may be made to The James F. Companion Leadership Institute at The Linsly School, 60 Knox Lane, Wheeling, WV 26003 or The Bethany Fund, Bethany College, 31 E. Campus Dr., Bethany WV 26032-0419.
“[T]he time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.” 2 Tim. 4:7
