James Griffin Boswell II

About

Stanford University California Institute of Technology

James Boswell Obituary

BOSWELL II, James Griffin Age 86, passed away April 3, 2009 at his home in Indian Wells, CA. He was born March 10, 1923 in Greensboro, Georgia, the son of William Whittier Boswell, Sr. and Kate Hall Boswell. He was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife, Rosalind Murray Boswell, a brother William Whittier Boswell, Jr, and two sisters, Katherine Lavender and Josephine (Jody) Larsen. He is survived by his wife, Barbara Wallace Boswell, daughters, Jody Hall of Incline Village, Nevada and Lorraine Wilcox of Sun Valley, Idaho and his son, James Walter Boswell; of La Canada Flintridge, CA; grandchildren, Elizabeth Boswell, Cameron Boswell, Katherine Boswell, Daniel Boswell and Gifford Wilcox. JG, as he was commonly called, graduated the Thacher School in Ojai, CA in 1941 and received his B.S. in economics from Stanford University in 1946. He served in the United States Army during World War II in the South Pacific. It was at Stanford where he met his first wife Rosalind Murray. They were married in Pasadena in 1948 and started their home in Litchfield Park, Arizona. They moved to Pasadena, California in 1952 where they raised their three children. In 1984, they moved to Sun Valley, Idaho. Rosalind passed away August 10, 2000.
JG was highly instrumental in the growth of the J. G. Boswell Company, which was started by his father, Bill and Bill's brothers, Colonel J. G. Boswell and Colonel Walter Boswell. JG's career with the Boswell Company began in 1948 and continued until his passing. He served as Chairman, President & CEO from 1952 until his retirement in 1984. After retirement, he continued to serve on the Boswell Company board of directors until his passing. He also served on the boards of Safeway, General Electric, Security Pacific Bank, Bank of America, and Up With People. He was a trustee of The California Nature Conservancy, Cal Tech, Thacher School, The James G. Boswell Foundation of California, and the Boswell Family Foundation of Idaho. Through his leadership, the J. G. Boswell Company continues to enjoy a reputation for success and excellence in agricultural operations in California and New South Wales, Australia, as well as successful real estate development projects in Arizona, Colorado and California. A memorial service will be held at 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at the Corcoran High School Memorial Stadium in Corcoran, CA. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Hospice of the Wood River Valley, P. O. Box 4320, Ketchum, ID 83340, or St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center, P. O. Box 100, Ketchum, ID 83340.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Los Angeles Times on Apr. 8, 2009.

Memories and Condolences
for James Boswell

6 Entries

Lynnette Nicholson

May 31, 2025

To the family. We have lost touch with you especially Jody. Would love to hear from you if possible. Lynnette Nicholson (McGregor)

Jeff Phair

April 18, 2009

ADDENDUM to my guest book entry:
I was unaware that JG's middle name is Griffin and that he was born in Georgia. My mother's maiden name is Griffin. Her father was born in Griffin, Georgia, in 1910. Perhaps JG and my grandfather (Robert Griffin) are related. I would be interested in hearing from anyone who has done some geneological research.

Jeff Phair
[email protected]

Jeff Phair

April 16, 2009

I am very appreciative of having had the opportunity to have worked for Mr. Boswell. I first met Mr. Boswell in the early 1980s. I had just finished law school. I grew up with a hammer in my hand, working on my dad's small ranch. I was a commercial real estate broker throughout college and law school. But I wanted to learn the real estate development business. I was asked to interview for a position as one of the original officers starting the master-planned community of Eastlake in San Diego county. I was very surprised to receive a phone call from Mr. Boswell's office, telling me that he was sending his private plane to pick me up and fly me to the meeting. From the airport I was taken, not to Mr. Boswell's office, but to Dodger Stadium. I was escorted into a private box and introduced to Mr. Boswell and several other men, including Peter Uberroth (the future Olympic chairman) and Mayor Tom Bradley. It was very heady stuff for a small-town boy from Chula Vista.

Mr. Boswell asked me to sit next to him. We shared a bag of popcorn and talked about baseball, farming, politics, families, and more baseball. The resume I had spent a week preparing never came out of the new fancy leather briefcase I had bought just for the meeting, and had slid under my seat. At the end of the game, Mr. Boswell shook my hand and told me I was hired. Thus began my career with Eastlake Development Company. I was very fortunate to have been part of a great "team": Jim Boswell Jr., Dave, Ron, Bob, Kent, Mickey, Graham, Gary, Bob, Katy, Curt. I was given an opportunity to help plan, design, and build a new city. It was a great experience, which taught me the basics of the real estate development industry.

After we opened the first phases of Eastlake in the mid-80s, I left Eastlake to start my own real estate development and investment company in 1988. Over the years since then, I've never used a formal interview/resume process when hiring executives for my company. I conduct "popcorn interviews" by taking prospective new hires to a baseball or football game. The most important thing I learned from Mr. Boswell was that you can learn more about a person, interacting informally at a ballgame, than you can from a fancy resume. I am appreciative of the business opportunity Mr. Boswell gave me, and for him teaching me that lesson.

Jeff Phair
THE PHAIR COMPANY

Susan Richardson Hiley

April 9, 2009

As long as I've been alive, there's been a JG Boswell. The world is a little empty now, with his passing. My father and other relatives were part of the Boswell operation for many years. Condolences for your loss.

Karl Finley

April 8, 2009

Our family lived just behind Jim's mother & father...Kate & W.W......Jim was very kind to us in those days long ago now, but what good memories I have....He would us things a baseball met or baseball shoes which were to big but my brother and had fun with what evr came our way....I remember him building a hot rod with I think was va Hansen boy , those were the days !!!!....Anyway, I've rambled enough....God rest his soul...Jim did lots for many people.....Best regards....Karl F. Finley

Christina Vargas

April 8, 2009

My prayers and thoughts are with the Boswell family at this time. Hanford has also suffered a great loss with the loss of JG Boswell. You are greatly missed!

Showing 1 - 6 of 6 results