James McCloud

James Ferdinand Andreas Mccloud Jim McCloud passed on peacefully of natural causes at age 92 on the evening of December 2, 2010 in La Verne, California. James Ferdinand Andreas McCloud was born in West Oakland, California on July 2, 1918. In Oakland he attended Cole Grammar School, Lowell Jr. High and McClymond's and St. Mary's High Schools. He attended Stanford University and upon graduating in 1941 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering went to work at the Richmond Shipyards for the Kaiser companies building Liberty ships. It was here that he met whom he referred to as "that black haired beauty" who was to become his loving wife of 54 years, Geneva (Gus) Edgar. Other than a brief stint with Pacific Bridge Co. in San Francisco he spent his entire working career with Kaiser. Following the shipyards he moved to the Kaiser-Frazer Willow Run plant in Michigan. In the mid 1950's he took the family and went to Argentina for the formation of Industrias Kaiser Argentina of which he became President. He returned to Kaiser's Oakland offices in 1972 and retired in 1983 at the age of 65 as President of Kaiser Engineers. He volunteered much of his time for many non-profit organizations such as Mercy Care, the Catholic Diocese of Oakland, St. Mary's College, the University of Santa Clara, Providence Hospital, the Oakland Coliseum and the U.S.S. Potomac Association. He received a Papal Honor in 1964 and was made a Knight of St. Gregory by Pope Paul VI. He was also a Knight and Geneva a Dame of the Order of Malta. During retirement Jim and Gus would follow the seasons and spend half their year in Argentina and half in the US. He spent time fly fishing and restoring cars. He was a member of the Jockey Club in Buenos Aires, the Pacific Union Club and the Claremont Country Club. "El Jefe" (the Boss), as his four sons referred to him, was a loving and devoted husband, the greatest father in the world and a loyal friend to many. El Jefe was an uncomplicated man -- a "straight shooter". He would always remember everyone's name, although when asked about this gift he would say it just did not come by itself but he had to work hard at it. He led his life in the same way, by working hard to achieve a goal. He strived to have a wonderful family, many great friends and to do well at work. And he succeeded. He would tell his four boys, "If you end up digging ditches for a living, make sure they are straight." One of his sons was once introduced to a man who asked if he was any relation to Jim McCloud. When his son replied yes, the man then said, "if you were alone in a dark alley and could only have one person there with you, that person would be Jim McCloud." El Jefe was in that dark alley with his family and friends whenever they needed him. Jim was predeceased by Gus in 1999. He is survived by his four sons, Kimball, Kelly, Mark and James; two daughters-in-law, Claire and Marcela; eight grandchildren, Casey, Ashley, Christopher, Paul, Geneva, James, Scott and Cameron; and two great-grandchildren, Drake and Lucia. Mass will be held on Saturday, December 11th beginning at 11:15 am at St. Theresa Catholic Church, 30 Mandalay Road, Oakland, California 94618, Ph. (510) 547-2777, with one half hour of viewing prior to the Mass. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to St. Theresa Catholic Church. Arrangements by Grant Miller - John Cox Mortuary, 2850 Telegraph Road, Oakland, CA, (510) 451-6434.