James A. Pelsi, 82, a retired insurance investigator from Willowbrook, died Monday, June 19, in Hinsdale Hospital. Mr. Pelsi spent 43 years working for Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., first as an agent and then as an investigator. Relatives described him as a humorous, big-hearted man who was devoted to his family. He was a lover of baseball and football and had a particular fondness for horse racing, said his granddaughter Julie Nelson. Mr. Pelsi specialized in insurance fraud, an assignment that often kept him away from home. “On some cases he had my grandmother keep him company all night,” his granddaughter said. Mr. Pelsi was born in Chicago and served in the Army during World War II. Other survivors include his wife, Rose; a daughter, Judy Matuszak; a sister, Lenore Weil; two brothers, Anthony and Thomas; another granddaughter, Christy Purdy; and two great-grandchildren. Visitation will be from 2 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Modell Funeral Home, 7710 S. Cass Ave., Darien. Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Thursday in Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church, 701 Plainfield Rd., Darien.
