James E. Webb

JAMES E. WEBB

Aug. 7, 1931 - Mar. 16, 2008

Retired Teledyne Ryan executive, James E. Webb passed away at home Sunday, March 16, 2008. Jim retired as a Vice President of Contracts and Pricing in 1993. Jim was referred to as a "globe trotting VP" as he negotiated contracts for customers on six continents.
Born on a farm August 7, 1931 in Blue Grove, Texas, Jim lived in Texas, Pennsylvania and Alabama before moving to San Bernardino, CA where he graduated from high school in 1949. His love affair with the aircraft industry began in 1936 in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania at a Piper Aircraft Company picnic where he went up in his first airplane ride.
He had a brief career with the Giants minor league baseball team before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force where he served for 3 years during the Korean Crisis. After his USAF tour in Japan and Korea, he was discharged from the service in December 1953. Jim entered San Diego State University and earned a degree in Business Management with a minor in Accounting.
In 1956 Jim married Marjorie Sones and began his career at Ryan Aeronautical as part of a new Management Training Program. After completing the one year training, he was assigned to the Firebee Program Office as a staff assistant where he provided technical support in negotiations. Jim and several key Ryan engineers "disappeared" into an off-site warehouse to help develop the first family of Ryan's RPV's (Remotely Piloted Vehicles) famed for their photographic missions during the Viet Nam War. This led to Jim's involvement (over a 15 year period) of production of several hundred RPV's and the development of advanced, stealth-like systems.
In 1965 Jim moved his family to the Imperial Valley to run a 2,200 acre farming operation for his deceased brother-in-law. The many innovations for cost savings in farming operations earned Jim a featured spot in Who's Who in American Farming and a visit of farmers from Israel sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and Agriculture. The techniques he introduced to farming produced some record yields at a fraction of the traditional growing costs by eliminating almost all of the pre-harvest hand labor for produce and other row crops. Modifications to existing seed planters allowed the first practical use of a mechanical thinning of lettuce. A new-plant fertilizer preparation method yielded a record high quality of lettuce per acre.
Jim returned to San Diego and resumed his career with Ryan in 1967. In 1970 he was named Director of Contracts and Pricing. In 1980 he moved to the newly formed Teledyne Ryan Electronics, where over a course of 30 years he hired and trained many who went on to fill management positions at TRE and other Teledyne and non-Teledyne companies. It was the Ryan training that allowed Jim to move quickly from the defense industry to farming and make a lasting contribution in that field as well.
Jim loved baseball and football as much as golf, fishing and reading historical novels. He negotiated player contracts (gratis) for several young major league baseball players as sort of a "busman's holiday." Along with his wife Marge, they supported education with endowments for scholarships at both Helix High School and San Diego State University. Jim also served on the Aztec Athletic Foundation Board and was active in the La Mesa Little League and Pony League serving as a coach and on the respective boards.
He was preceded in death by his son, Douglas A. Webb in 1987.
Jim is survived by his wife Marjorie of 52 years, son, Scott and daughter-in-law Mary, grandsons Brandon and Travis Webb, all of La Mesa; brother David Webb of Alaska and sister, Dorothy Martin of San Diego, as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins and several aunts and uncles.
At this time, services are pending urn interment at Fort Rosecrans, San Diego, CA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to San Diego Hospice, 4311 Third Avenue, San Diego, CA 92103.