James Schuyler

1924 - 2018

James Owen Schuyler

July 9, 1924 - April 2, 2018

James passed away peacefully on April 2, 2018. James, who also went by Jim and as a boy, Jimmy, was born and raised in Whittier California. His father, Harry A. Schuyler, managed a citrus operation for the Leffingwell Company. Jim's mother, Edith Owen Schuyler, was a homemaker and was involved in many women's groups in Whittier.

Jim attended UC Berkeley, where he majored in electrical engineering, graduating in 1948. His time in college was interrupted by World War II. Jim enlisted in the army and was placed in the army's Specialized Training Program which saw him and a small group of "fair haired boys" sent to colleges across the western states. When he was finally shipped out, it was to the Pacific Theater, where he spent time in New Guinea and the Philippines. Back to Berkeley after the war, he met his future love and wife – Leose Brown, also from a citrus ranch in southern California. Jim was in the Psi Upsilon fraternity while Leose was in the Gamma Phi Beta sorority. They first met on a blind date and married on September 10, 1948 after they had both graduated.

Jim and Leose first settled in La Selva Beach California, where he worked at Moss Landing in the drafting room. When he was hired by the Pacific Gas & Electric Company in 1950 he moved the family to San Carlos. In 1955 PG&E sent him back to Chicago to study nuclear engineering at the Argonne Laboratory for a couple of years. In 1980, Jim was made PG&E's first VP of Nuclear Engineering. He oversaw the nuclear management team and was involved with nuclear projects at Humboldt Bay and Diablo Canyon.

Jim's abiding passions were genealogy, backpacking and fly fishing. His mother first introduced him to the family tree and the great puzzle of finding out about one's family's history. It was not until the 1970's that he was able to seriously start researching both the Schuyler line and his mother's Owen family and all the collateral branches of his family. Both Leose and Jim became active genealogist's and traveled not only to The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, but took trips back to New York, Michigan and abroad to England, Wales and Ireland to research church records and wander through many a graveyard.

Jim was a dedicated member of the San Francisco Chapter Sons of the American Revolution, the Jamestowne Society and the Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, and a long-time member of the Mayflower Society and the California Genealogical Society (past president) as well.

Jim's family camped when he was growing up, so his love of the outdoors started early. Jim continued that tradition with his own family. He not only planned family car camping trips each summer but also planned backpack trips with a group of friends including his son, John, his best friend Vic Kaste and his brother-in-law Grant Brown. They headed for the Sierra's with heavy packs, fishing poles and light hearts. He also took his children on backpack trips into the Desolation Wilderness area. With his son, John, he hiked the entire John Muir Trail over five summers. Jim loved to fly fish and he passed that love on to his son. The mountains fed Jim's soul.

Jim was a member of the Church of Epiphany in San Carlos for over 60 years. He served as Senior Warden three times. You could always find him at the 8:00 a.m. service Sunday mornings with all the other early attendees.
Jim was smart, quirky, a consummate engineer and a devoted husband, a kind and loving father and a generous grandfather. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Leose, his three children Susan (Jack) Marquis, Barbara (Dave Brown) Hebda, John (Priscila Franco) Schuyler and his grandchildren Elyce, Tom, Stephen and Mark, as well as his great grandchildren, Moira, Esmée, Fiona and Zelda. He is also survived by his sister, Jane Hornung of Visalia and 1 niece, 2 nephews, 1 great-niece & 3 great-nephews.

A memorial service will be celebrated at 10:30 AM on Saturday, May 12 at The Church of Epiphany San Carlos. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a charity of your choice.