Christian F. (“Chris”) Tittinger, age 96, was surrounded by his wife and children when he peacefully passed away at home in Hatfield, PA on March 4, 2025.

A child of the Depression, Chris came from humble beginnings in North Philadelphia in the ‘30s, but always “had everything” he needed. That, he carried inside with his steady, loving nature and artistic approach to life. “When I was a kid and walked outside my door,” he’d say of life amid the rowhomes along Opal Street, “I had all the friends in the world.”

Conversely, anyone who shared time with Chris and was touched by his easy laughter, open heart and ready singing, knew they had a friend in him.

A creative spirit and skilled craftsman, Chris loved to work with his hands, renovating his family’s home, rendering wood carvings, painting murals and bringing originality into this world with a philosophical and melodic mindset. “Whenever I heard him whistling or singing, I knew he was happy,” his wife, Kathleen, would say.

Resilient, patient, loving, even-keeled. Chris loved to laugh, loved to sing, loved sports, and above all, loved his family. He worked 35 years for the Philadelphia Electric Company (“but that was just a job”), furthering his career by attending night school and earning his degree from St. Joseph’s University in his 40s. All while raising five children and single-handedly restoring the beloved family home on Verree Road in the Fox Chase section of Northeast Philadelphia.

Chris’ natural inclination for artistry was on full display from his childhood, where he adorned his basement-bedroom walls with painted murals, and wowed the neighborhood with Christmas scenes on the glass windows along Opal Street. Soon after joining the Army during the Korean War, he transformed his unit’s cafeteria and rec room walls in Munich, Germany with scenes of athletic prowess — racehorses and billiard players, Olympic champions and, of course, football players.

His passion for sports, and especially his beloved Philadelphia Eagles, was awakened early, when a baseball hit by Jimmie Foxx crashed through their bathroom window. The rare fan to have witnessed all five of the Eagles’ championships, Chris paid .50 cents to see the team’s first title win, played in a blizzard in 1948, and celebrated with family as his team won Super Bowl LIX just three weeks before his passing.

Following the Korean War, Chris first danced with the love of his life, a schoolteacher named Kathleen, at the Chez Vous club in West Philadelphia. They were married two years later, in February of 1958—during another blizzard—and the lovebirds drove off with chains on their tires, all the way to Miami with snow still on the hood of their borrowed Buick. 

Chris and Kathleen began raising their five children on Aberdale Road in Northeast Philly before settling in Fox Chase, where the they became fixtures in the neighborhood, Chris coaching Little League and regularly attending St. Cecilia’s Church. Following his retirement, Chris and Kathleen, relocated to Hatfield, in Montgomery County, to be closer to their grandchildren, into whom they poured their love for the next 30 years.

Despite the health challenges he faced in his later years, Chris’ smile and reassuring nature never wavered. “I’m in good shape for the shape I’m in,” he’d say, before taking another spoonful of vanilla ice cream.

Christian was predeceased by his parents, Elizabeth (nee Pellkofer), and Christian M. Tittinger, and his sisters, Anne Breeser (Edwin), Elizabeth “Bette” Terrill (Thomas) and Josephine “Jo” M. Buckley-Handren, (Stephen and George).

Survived by his wife of 67 years, Kathleen Tittinger (nee Lydon); his sister Cassie McGuire (the late Thomas); sons Christian J. Tittinger (Patricia), James Tittinger (Renee´) and Michael Tittinger (Dolphina), daughters Patricia Buchter (Barry) and Jennifer Lydon (Tony); his grandsons James Tittinger, Shane Tittinger, Barry Buchter, Christian Buchter and Craig Rodenbaugh, granddaughters Kerry Lenz, Kylie Tittinger, Victoria Woodburn, Debbie Lydon and Amy Kustra; and a growing family tree of great-grandchildren.

Relatives and friends are invited to Chris’ Funeral Services and Life Celebration on Monday, March 10, 2025. (Attendees are asked to park in the St. Stanislaus Church parking lot for both the viewing and mass.)

• Viewing will be held at Simcox-McIlvaine Funeral Home, 532 E. Main Street, Lansdale PA, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
• Mass will be held across the street at St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church, 51 Lansdale Ave., Lansdale PA, at 11 a.m.
• Interment at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 3301 W. Cheltenham Ave., Cheltenham Twp., PA.
• Lunch reception will follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to either St. Stanislaus Church or to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Christian F. Tittinger’s name.