John L. "Jay" deBenedetti III

John L. "Jay" deBenedetti III Passed away peacefully Jan. 7, 2007, with his family by his side after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 68. Jay was born in San Francisco. As a fourth generation Californian, Jay descended from a pioneering family of growers and shippers and grew up in coastal Santa Cruz. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1959 and while at Cal he was a member of the golf team and the Zeta Psi fraternity. Jay was honored to be a member of "The Builders of Berkeley" and has supported many worthy Cal programs over the years. Jay broke with the family's agricultural roots and pursued a distinguished career as a commercial real estate developer. The beginning of his career was spent with Coldwell Banker and Sutter Hill Development. In 1976 he co-founded Cypress Properties where he engaged in shopping center and suburban office acquisitions and development. Jay shared his real estate wisdom generously through a variety of industry forums and extended his considerable talents beyond real estate, serving on the board of high tech and medical technology companies as well as philanthropic interests including The Vista Center for the Blind. Jay was a member of the San Francisco Golf Club, Bohemian Club and Menlo Country Club. Jay is survived by his loving wife Marti; his daughter Ann and husband, Ted Levis of St. Louis; his son John deBenedetti and wife, Nina of S.F. and his daughter Mary and husband, Scott Newman of Lafayette; his grandchildren Matt, Jack and Cate Levis; Natalie and Grace deBenedetti; Liz, Caroline and Payson Newman; his sister Jane McInnis and husband, Mac and many caring nieces and nephews. The family is comforted by the love and support from Jay's devoted friends. A Celebration of Jay's Life will be held at the San Francisco Golf Club at a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to be made to either: That Man May See, (public charity supporting UCSF Ophthalmology), 10 Koret Way Box 0352, S.F., CA 94143-0352 or the UC Berkeley Foundation in support of the Memorial Stadium Building Fund, UC Regents/Gift Administration 2080 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA 94720.