James Flood

1939 - 2020

James Clair Flood

May 8, 1939-Feb. 18, 2020

Well-known San Franciscan James Clair Flood, who bore the name of his silver baron great-grandfather, never planned to retire. The businessman, cowboy and skier had ambitious plans for the coming months. So the news of his sudden heart failure on February 18, 2020 in Jackson Hole, Wyo. came as a shock to all who knew and loved him and were a part of his active life.
Days before he died, he rode his quarter horse Tucker in Woodside with his wife, Astrid, and daughter Karin. In the same week, he forged ahead with business at the family-owned Flood Building. He closed out his duck season with an epic hunt, tirelessly fetching fallen birds from the boggy marsh at Pacific Valley Ranch in Marysville. On his final day, he skied 7,736 vertical feet at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort and enjoyed a ski-area cheeseburger with daughter Christina and her family. He was 80.
"Candidly, I didn't imagine it could be true at first," wrote Ben Williams, headmaster of the Cate School, where Flood attended high school and continued later as a passionate board member and alumni. "Irascible Jim Flood couldn't be taken down by anything or anyone, I imagined. He'd outrun the reaper ... or stare him down ... back him off with some well phrased, well-timed humor."
Born in San Francisco to James Flood and Elizabeth Dresser Flood, Jim grew up in Woodside with siblings Judy, Elizabeth and John. He attended Woodside Elementary School. His cousin, Joan Law Gamble, lived less than a mile away and made many memories with the family. "We had a fabulous childhood," she recalled. "We used horses to get around. We ran as a pack, swimming and fishing in creeks, building forts and sleeping under the redwoods."
The two families also enjoyed many years at the Flood's Rancho Sisquoc in the Santa Maria Valley. They moved cattle, shot quail, drove old Land Rovers over rugged ranch roads and along precarious cliffs. His mother, Betty Flood, instilled in all of them a love and respect for the country and all its creatures.
The love for the outdoors established in Jim's youth evolved into a far-ranging drive for adventure. "Everything he did was planned with the seasons in mind," his wife said. "Hunting in the fall, skiing in the winter, and fly-fishing in the spring and summer." He considered his summit of the Grand Teton with daughters Lisa and Christina one of his favorite accomplishments. He loved the mountains and rivers of northwest Wyoming and made the region his second home for parts of five decades. The civic spirit he embodied in the city found an outlet in the country as he enjoyed many rewarding years on the Jackson Hole Land Trust board of directors.
After graduating from the Cate School in 1957, he studied International Relations at Stanford University and graduated in 1961. Later, he joined the U.S. Army Intelligence. On a practice mission, he lived in an igloo for six months with the Inuit, hunting and fishing. His father made him come home and get a job after the service. Jim joined Wells Fargo Bank, where he worked his way up the ladder from teller to executive vice president.
He married his wife Astrid of 54 years in 1966 in New York City. The couple honeymooned with Syida and Claxton Long in Jamaica.
Jim and Astrid raised three girls, numerous Labradors, and horses. They lived in San Francisco and he was a fixture in his neighborhood. On one unforgettable Halloween, he dressed as a gorilla and spooked people for hours.
In 1990, when Jim's father died, Jim went to work for the family business. He managed the Flood building on 870 Market Street as well as the family's winery and cattle ranch in Santa Barbara.
For the building's centennial in 2004, Jim spent $15 million to restore the flatiron. Many believe this was the most rewarding time of his life, when his passion for family, history, and San Francisco all came together. The California Heritage Council honored him for the restoring and preserving of the city landmark. He believed strongly in reviving the downtown area near the building, the heart of San Francisco. With his daughter Karin, he created the Union Square Business Improvement District, serving as president for 10 years and board member for 20. In 2009, the BID honored him with a Cable Car Bell for his dedication to improving the cleanliness and safety of the streets.
Jim approached his responsibilities at the family ranch with the same level of attention and passion. When he took over, he set his sights on making the ranch economically sustainable, a goal he attained and surpassed. Together with ranch managers Mary and Ed Holt of 41 years, Jim improved the ranch infrastructure, added more vineyards, increased wine sales, managed the cattle operation and modernized the farming. His introduction of a wine club significantly helped the winery grow. The operation went from making a few hundred cases to making 20,000 cases. Winemaker Sarah Mullins, the Holt's daughter, also achieved Jim's dream for high marks in the Wine Spectator.
As a prominent San Franciscan, he was a member of the Pacific-Union Club, the Bohemian Club, and the Burlingame Club. As a cowboy, he enjoyed his memberships with the Society of California Pioneers, The Rancheros, the Frontier Boys, and the Society of Los Alamos.
For his 50th birthday, his favorite ski instructor, Eddie Kolsky, wrote a song for Jim that captured his unique character:
But often he'll talk and then listen but doze, that's the cowboy in city man's clothes
There is a fresh cackling laughter that screeches and crows from the cowboy in city man's clothes.
Jim is survived by his wife Astrid of 54 years, his three daughters Lisa Flood (Thomas), Karin Flood and Christina Flood Kane (Larry), seven grandchildren, his siblings Judy Otter (Dick), Elizabeth Stevenson (John Fell) and John Flood (Diana) as well as his cousins Joan Gamble, and Jim and Ted Stebbins.
The memorial service will be held at Grace Cathedral Tuesday, March 17 at 3pm.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Union Square Foundation, the Society of California Pioneers or the San Francisco General Hospital Foundation.