James Hobbs

James D Hobbs

Died peacefully on Friday, December 5th at the age of 87 at his home in Lincoln, CA. Known to his friends as Jim, he lead an active life that took him from his birthplace in Seabring, FL to San Francisco, where he lived for the better part of his life. He entered the Navy in 1945 prior to graduating from high school. Upon discharge he returned home, completed high school, and enrolled at Amherst College where he earned a liberal arts degree. Following graduation he returned back to San Francisco where he took a job with the phone company while earning a law degree at USF by night. He was a Guardsman, and it was during this wonderful time in the mid fifties where he met his wife Alice Coughlin, a school teacher.

Jim and Alice were married in 1957. Living in San Francisco they raised four children as Jim built his career as a lawyer with Kerner, Colangelo and Imlay, and then with his good friend Jim McDonald. During the early seventies Jim developed an appreciation for preserving urban open space in response to sprawling suburban communities. He worked closely with People for Open Space, which eventually merged into the Greenbelt Alliance, which to this day advocates for the establishment of "green belts" as bridges between urban development.

Jim was a great outdoorsman. He particularly enjoyed backpacking in Yosemite, and was happiest when hiking with his family. He was a master at bringing together a group. He enjoyed fly fishing in the Sierras, playing tennis at the Cal Club, skiing at Squaw Valley, and golf at the Presidio. He was an active adult leader with Boy Scout Troop 14 in San Francisco.

Jim was a man of deep compassion and empathy. He stood for the less fortunate and urged others to do the same. His final years were spent in quiet reflection, regularly delivering communion to homebound parishioners of the St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lincoln.

Jim is survived by his four children, Jim Jr., Kate, Mary and Ellen, as well as nine grandchildren, and his dear companion Anna May Hart. There will be a funeral mass in Jim's honor on Monday, December 15th at 11am at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Bolinas, followed by a brief interment ceremony at the cemetery next to the church where Jim will rejoin his dear wife Alice, who passed away in 1991, in peace.