Obituaries

James Phillip McRhoads, Jr., was a beloved local resident from 1984 to the date of his passing, September 8th, 2015. He and his wife, Terri, initially moved to Newark, and then bought their home in Union City two years later. Jim and Terri were regulars at many local restaurants, including Baldie’s Café in Union City, Cabrillo Café in Fremont, and My Café in Newark. When going out to eat, Jim was often mistaken for Santa Claus by children near Christmas time. He played along and asked them what they wanted for Christmas, then told them to be good. He could also pass for a Viking, and dressed in a helmet with horns for Halloween. He was known for his sense of humor as well as his warmth and caring.

Jim started life at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in an army family on December 9th, 1953. Six months later, his family went to Tokyo, Japan, where he lived until he was four. The family then moved to Germany until Jim was 11, where he was a Wolf Scout. He was able to visit several European countries while there, along with his father, James Sr., his mother, Connie, and his siblings, Donna Theresa (now called Terry), Debi, Mike and Kathy.

With this world view, Jim moved back to the United States and lived in Salinas from 1964 to 1978. He worked at a variety of jobs while going to High School and college there, including lettuce picking, appliance delivery and selling shoes. He also belonged to a circle of friends that engaged in creative writing and produced art work. Jim did pen-and-ink drawings, and also had his poems published in “Ally,” a local publication edited by Joe Drucker.

In 1976, Jim began to work in his father’s Exxon Service Station in San Jose, CA. During this time, he met his wife, Terri, by walking up to her at the Hyatt lunch counter and saying, “excuse me – what are you doing Sunday?” Terri replied, “nothing, why?” Jim then said “would you like to get married?” Terri replied, “Sure. What time?” Jim did not know what to say to that and sat down at the other end of the L-shaped lunch counter. Terri noticed that Jim was reading an intellectual book, and was also exchanging jokes with the busboys and servers. This was an appealing combination. Terri worked across the street from where Jim worked and they both continued to come to the lunch counter every day after that. After about two weeks of Jim and Terri sitting at opposite ends of the lunch counter and looking at each other but not talking, the waitress behind the counter took matters into her own hands. She took Jim’s salad and marched it down to set it next to Terri. Jim followed. After some exchange of conversation over the next few days, Jim said to Terri, “so, when are you inviting me over for dinner?” Terri invited Jim over, but called her roommate, Darlene, and said, “You’d better stay – he’s kind of weird.” Terri’s pot-roast sealed the deal, and Jim and Terri were married December 19th, 1981, a year and three months after they met, in a double wedding with his brother.

After the Exxon station was removed from the Hyatt property to make room for more parking, Jim began to work at North First Chevron, where he was the managing partner. He worked there for 23 years. In the mid 2000’s Jim also worked at Temco in Fremont, CA, as a Sales Engineer, selling power generating equipment.

Jim and Terri moved from the San Jose area to Newark in 1984 when they bought their first house. They adopted their first daughter, Molly Christine McRhoads, when she was born on November 30th, 1985. In 1986, they bought a larger home in Union City, and adopted another daughter, Emily Roxanne McRhoads, when she was born on March 22nd, 1991.

Jim and Terri took their children and nieces and nephews with them on many trips to Disneyland, San Francisco, and most often, to their church campgrounds in the Santa Cruz redwoods called Happy Valley. Though the children, nieces and nephews are grown, they still refer to these times as among their happiest. Jim was an active church member and he and Terri attended the local congregation every Sunday and Wednesday. He also volunteered at the Fremont Children’s Peace Pavilion (located at Paseo Padre Pkwy. and the north end of Fremont Blvd.) where school children are taken to tour the interactive exhibits promoting Peace for Me, Peace for Us, Peace for Everyone and Peace for the Planet.

After Jim’s career was completed, he took on a new role – grandpa. He was a primary care-giver to his grandson, Kyle, along with his sister, Kathy. He and Terri enjoyed living in a multi-generational household.

Jim and Terri took cruises to Mexico in 2004 and 2007, and completed a month-long trip around the United States in 2014 to see old friends and family. They also took short trips within Northern California this year to see friends and family that they had not seen for some time. Even though time had passed since previous visits, it was as though they had all seen each other yesterday – the relationships picked right up where they left off.

Jim passed on to his reward on September 8th, 2015. His Celebration of Life is at 11:00 am on Saturday, October 10th, 2015, at the Community of Christ, 34050 Paseo Padre Pkwy., Fremont, CA, 94555. Anyone that knew Jim is encouraged to attend.