Charles W. Mosser

Charles W. Mosser November 12, 1924 - October 17, 2007 Businessman, philanthropist and environmentalist Charles William Mosser, one of San Francisco's top real estate developers and property managers, whose humanitarian works included planting more than three million trees in the Philippines, died Oct. 17, at St. Mary's Hospital, from prostate cancer. He was 82. Mr. Mosser thrived on the art of deal making. When anticipating a favorable outcome in business negotiations, he was known to say, "Let's cut a fat hog in the ass." Translation: "Let's make a deal." At the time of his death, he owned more than 35 apartment buildings and four hotels including the Cable Car Court on California St., a renovated cable car barn. He also refurbished the old Keystone Hotel on 4th St., transforming it into the Mosser Hotel, which along with guest rooms and a restaurant, houses a recording facility named Studio Paradiso. He was also in the process of renovating and restoring the St. Paul Hotel in North Beach. Mr. Mosser had a knack for spotting distressed, mismanaged properties needing attention that he snapped up, sunk capital into, and held onto for the long haul. Once real estate was acquired, he considered it a sin to sell. The biggest regret of his life was letting go a six-unit building purchased early on at Presidio and Jackson Streets. But not all was work for Charles Mosser. A patron of the arts and a performer himself, he crooned like a blend of Bing Crosby & Frank Sinatra, performing in small San Francisco clubs, just for fun. He wrote more than 5,000 songs, composing as he went along, recording tunes on a micro cassette. Mr. Mosser also wrote several plays, at least one of which was staged in the Philippines. A children's storybook he penned was set in Golden Gate Park with a six-foot squirrel as its hero. Family meant the world to him. Against the odds of five marriages and as many divorces, he kept his children united and the family bond strong. Though he was demanding-with a sharp tongue and titanic temper-his kids loved him to pieces. Eccentric in some ways, after receiving a cancer diagnosis 16 years ago, he adopted an ascetic diet of raw foods. He preached this gospel to his family, inspecting their refrigerators on every visit, but without noticeable effect. Handsome, though not dressed to match, Mr. Mosser wasn't one to flaunt success with flashy apparel. His trademark look was sandals with wool socks, a cowboy hat and a fanny pack. He also drove used cars, though near the end he splurged on a new Range Rover, fully loaded. Born in Grass Valley, young Charles attended local schools and enlisted in the US Navy. During World War II he served in the Pacific theater as a radio operator on ships. He belonged to a convoy that transported supplies to the Philippines in 1943 for American troops and Filipino guerillas. He became enamored of the country and many years later married a Filipina, his fifth wife. Over time Mr. Mosser gave out discarded American textbooks to students in the Philippines and built two schools there. Mr. Mosser donated funds to plant 3.7 million trees on the island of Negros, and started an organic banana plantation in Mindanao, where he was made an honorary Datu - a chief - of an indigenous tribe. For all his efforts, last year he was granted Filipino citizenship. At the end of the war, Mr. Mosser earned a degree at UC Berkeley. He went on to Hastings College of the Law but dropped out to support his young family. After working a stint in the federal government, he went into real estate. A longtime Republican, he nonetheless voted for Bill Clinton, preferring him to the alternative. He was fiscally conservative; socially liberal. He was proud to be an American. A great adventurer, he traveled around the world several times. He admired his own intelligence and had an ego as big as the Pacific Ocean. He adored Freddy, his chocolate-brown standard poodle. He believed that if you did the right thing, all would work out in the end. When it came to marriage and divorce he advised, "It's cheaper to keep her." But he was never to follow his own advice. Mr. Mosser was predeceased by his sister, Adelle Mosser. He is survived by his daughters, Deborah Mosser and Kathleen Massouda; and son, Neveo Mosser, all of San Francisco; six grandchildren; and his caregiver and friend, Marilyn Young. Services will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at Halsted N Gray-Carew & English, 1123 Sutter St., SF. Viewing will begin at 2 p.m., followed by a Memorial Service at 5:30 p.m. Arrangements for a military burial are pending. An appropriate epitaph for Mr. Mosser's tombstone might read, "Life is Wonderful." Family members suggest that memorial contributions be made to the Sierra Club; or to Friends of the Urban Forest.