James Syfers

1932 - 2023

James Syfers
October 2, 1932 - March 15, 2023
James Winans Syfers passed away at the age of 90 in Sonoma on March 15th, 2023. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1932. His family later moved to Michigan where his father worked for the Sault Ste Marie Soo Locks. Dr Syfers attended some college there and then moved to Chicago where he worked for the Chicago Tribune in various positions. He eventually applied to the University of Iowa and moved to Iowa City, Iowa to pursue his education. He graduated in 1964 with a PhD in Philosophy and took a position in the Philosophy Department of San Francisco State University. He taught there for over 30 years, and acted as Chair of the department for 12 years as well, retiring as a Professor Emeritus in 2001. He was much beloved by his students both for his classes and his stalwart support of his students. He was strongly politically progressive and his home had been the headquarters for the 1968-1969 Student Strike successfully demanding the creation of a Black Studies Department and an Ethnic Studies Department at San Francisco State University. Later he published the book "Law and Philosophy Subversive of Democracy" in 2003 as part of a San Francisco State University Series in Philosophy.
He married his first wife Judith Brady while a student in Iowa and they had two daughters. They divorced in the 1980s and he married his second wife Betty Ann Spencer in 1987, moving from San Francisco to Sonoma in 1993 where he remained for the rest of his life.
Dr Syfers was an encyclopedic scholar and expanded his interests to many issues involving justice and human rights, as well as environmental and health topics. He served on the Board of the Meiklejohn Civil Liberties Institute and as an editor of the institute publications and quarterly newsletter. He was active in his home community of Sonoma as well and belonged to the Sonoma Peace and Justice Committee, participating in weekly peace vigils and meetings.
Dr Syfers was an accomplished pianist and one of his family's treasured memories is of him playing the Midnight Sonata on his baby grand piano in his living room while his grandchildren danced happily around him. He was also a poet and published a collection of poems in 2007 entitled "Hotel Mulberry, a collection of late modern verbal assemblages". He was known for his whimsical sense of humor and his drawings of small creatures, especially foxes. He had a voluminous knowledge of history, philosophy and law, and despite his acute awareness of the injustice in the world and the harms caused by power and empire, he was endlessly delighted by the humorous idiosyncrasies of humans and all creatures. He is survived by his second wife Betty Ann Spencer, his daughters Tanya Syfers and Maia Syfers, his step daughter Vicki Kirschner, and his grandchildren Alex, Lily and Becca, as well as his sister Patricia Callaghan and her two sons. A memorial gathering will be held at Hill House, 8840 Egg Farm Lane, Kenwood on Friday, June 9th at 2 pm.