October 19, 2007

Memorial for Jim Arbuckle

Jim Arbuckle memorial attended by a who’s who of historic preservationists

James Madison Arbuckle: 1935–2007

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

More than100 friends gathered at History San Jose Oct. 4 to remember Jim Arbuckle. The celebration was a tribute to a man who “squeezed as much out of life as anyone could.”

A youthful Jim Arbuckle eyed the world as his oyster.

“One can’t help but compare the similarities between the way we are celebrating Jim Arbuckle’s life to the way early pioneers dealt with the loss of a friend,” said Jim Zetterquist, president of the California Pioneers of Santa Clara Valley.

Arbuckle was president of the California Pioneers when he met Zetterquist and asked him to join. “There’s no caterers, there’s no rented halls, there’s just a group of people coming together to share some memories, some stories, a bite to eat and to give a good friend a proper send off.”

The potluck was organized by the Preservation Action Council, the California Pioneers of Santa Clara County, History San Jose [HSJ], Friends of the Winemakers and Mountain Charlie chapter of E Clampus Vitus. Arbuckle was an active member of all and a personal friend of many who attended the celebration of his life at History San Jose under the tall oak trees that shadowed the historic buildings of the city’s past.

It was a fitting celebration at HSJ Park as Arbuckle’s father was one of the early founders. The younger Arbuckle spent many hours researching history and what HSJ curator Jim Reed called “trying to stump the archivist with his encyclopedic knowledge.” And if memories account for a life well lived, Arbuckle had countless that were reminisced about the times and interests shared together on this cool evening in October.

Arbuckle, 72, died on July 7. He fell from his bicycle at the corner of Meridian and Foxworthy in Willow Glen. Friends speculated he died from a heart attack, stroke or concussion but the cause of death is unknown as an autopsy was not done.

Friends remembered Arbuckle as an avid bicyclist and preservationist. Every morning he rode his bike from the home his father built on Franquette Avenue in Willow Glen to New Almaden, Mount Hamilton or wherever his free spirit dictated. Arbuckle’s passion for cycling and history was innate--his father, Clyde Arbuckle, city historian for 53 years and author of “History of San Jose,” passed the zeal to his only son.

The younger Arbuckle raced competitively with the Garden City Wheelmen as his father before him. Arbuckle took many titles and competitions in the Northern California District Championship in the U.S. and Europe. Last year, he competed in the Northern California-Nevada Track Racing Cyclist Champion-ships at Hellyer Park in the senior division. A few months before his death, he traveled to Europe where he raced and tasted wine—two of his lifelong loves. Arbuckle started racing in the 1960s while attending University of California at Berkeley.

His great-grandparents arrived in California before the Gold Rush and his parents Clyde and Helen made San Jose their home. Jim was the first born on April 14, 1935, a sister would follow. He graduated from Willow Glen High School in 1952 and attended Berkeley where he earned a bachelor of science, a master’s of science and MBA degrees in engineering. He worked as an engineer for Lockheed-Martin and as a tech writer. He also served briefly as a substitute teacher in San Jose.

In the 1990s after a 35-year odyssey, Arbuckle returned to his childhood home on Franquette Avenue taking on cooking and baking responsibilities on his mother’s old cast iron stove. His father died in his son’s arms in 1998 and his mother passed later the same year. At the time of her death, his mother had been researching “San Jose’s Women, Colonial Days to the 1970s,” a group she felt was under-represented in her husband’s volume. Arbuckle edited the book and, in 2002, it was published.

Arbuckle “never met a person he didn’t like” friends said at the service. Vocationally, he was an engineer at Lockheed, teacher, technical writer and business owner importing cognac. Besides his interests in history and cycling, he was known as a gourmet cook and baker, wine connoisseur and coffee lover who loved a good bargain. He even was a great dancer specializing in Smooth East Coast and West Coast Swing as several women attested to. At times, the celebration of his life was more of a roast than a somber memorial.

“Jim was of great will power,” said the Honorable Judge Paul Bernal and the current city of San Jose historian. “Being a teetotaler, he missed out on bacchanalian delights. Jim was also a man of few words. At social events he would secrete himself in a corner of a room and not interact with others. So bashful was Jim that he always answered in single syllables. He never read the newspaper; he cared little about local politics or world events. I know Jim would have loved to hear himself eulogized in such a way because he really could laugh at himself and he had a good time.”

“Jim had a generous spirit, considerate and interested in everything. He had a great wit and saw the comical angle on every issue. I will miss our frothy debates. I always felt like Jim was a Jesuit on ecstasy. He was a fixture at all events historical. We will miss Jim’s special presence,” added Judge Bernal.

Arbuckle knew the importance of saving historic structures and was active in the Preservation Action Council of San Jose’s efforts. But it wasn’t just locally. He helped with preserving his alma mater University of Califor-nia at Berkeley men’s dorm, Boyles Hall. He had been working on the Willow Glen Beautification Committee’s efforts of the “Historic Walking Tour Book,” which was dedicated to him.

History San Jose is naming a room after Clyde, Helen and Jim Arbuckle. But besides the continued historical preservation efforts of Arbuckle, one senses that the spirit of the man will be missed the most.

“We will miss Jim terribly,” said Friends of the Winemakers’ Bonnie Bamburg. “May the wind be at his back and the best bottle in his hand.”