Richard Donald James, 61, of Ocean Beach, passed from this world on Sunday night, April 27, 2008, surrounded by his family and friends. He was an artist, businessman, community activist, world-traveler and irreplaceable friend to many.
Rich was the smiling guy in the “Dolphinmobile,” his 1965 Chevy convertible featuring dolphins hand-painted by its owner. Locals would most likely see this OB auto-icon transporting Rich, his beloved dog Buddy, and Buddy’s doggy friends for their daily workout at Dog Beach.
Rich will most likely be remembered as the “Father of the Ocean Beach Christmas Tree and Parade,” an event that reflects the quirkiness, humor and tolerance of its founder and the community he called home for over 30 years.
Born in Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego on Dec. 16, 1946, Rich lived his childhood years in a modest two-bedroom East San Diego Redwood Village home.
He was the second son of a Navy family of five brothers and one sister headed by a loving mother, Nila, and caring but stern father, Bill, a chief petty officer corpsman fresh from service in World War II in the Pacific.
In 1953, the James family spent two years in Adak, Alaska, a naval communications station in the Aleutian Islands. For the sailors based there, it was considered a hardship outpost. But to Rich and his brothers, it was a natural wonderland “” a world apart from the chaparral cover canyons of San Diego.
The James family moved to Oakland in 1962. Rich was enrolled in Castlemont High School, one of the most crime-ridden high schools in the nation at the time. Instead of fearing his new surroundings, Rich reveled in its diversity. He excelled on the swimming team and was the only white member of a black high school fraternity.
Rich served in the U.S. Navy along with his brother, Ron, and his dad during the Vietnam War. After being honorably discharged, he enrolled in Chico State University where he graduated with a degree in graphic design. The artistic philosophy he learned there, that less is more, morphed into his life philosophy during the last dozen years.
In the early 1970s, Rich and his brothers settled into Ocean Beach. In 1976, they started the James Gang, a T-shirt screen-printing company that grew rapidly and soon expanded into a small chain of beach-apparel retail stores around San Diego and in Redding.
The James Gang became an active in the community where Rich and his brothers played significant roles in launching the annual Fourth of July Festival and the Ocean Beach Christmas Tree Festival and Parade.
Rich came up with the idea for the Christmas festival in 1976 when he was celebrating the success of the first Fireworks Festival at the Sunshine Saloon. He suggested a 20-foot community tree and tree-lighting ceremony. The more beer they consumed the taller the tree got, and by the end of the night the tree had to be at least 60 feet tall. That year, Rich found a wonderful 70-foot tree on Mount Shasta and he and his OB friends trucked it into OB with great fanfare.
Rich was a social animal. He loved to gather with his friends on Newport Avenue. He would throw great parties, including a series of legendary “James Gang Get Down Hoe Downs” in Harbinson Canyon.
Living large took its toll on his health and he decided to change his lifestyle.
Rich immersed himself in spiritual studies, painting and photography. He painted underwater seascape murals all over San Diego and worked with children to paint murals at their school and during the Fourth of July Festival. He often traveled to tropical destinations, including Jamaica, Costa Rica, Mexico and Thailand, where he loved the warm waters and free spirits who lived there.
Rich had one enduring dream ” a simple home in a tropical paradise. Just a few months ago, with the help of his father, that dream was made a reality when Rich purchased a small home near a beautiful beach in Costa Rica.
Earlier this month, he spent a week fixing up the small home and swimming in the warm waters before falling ill and returning to San Diego.
Despite heroic efforts by the caring staff of the Veterans Administration Hospital, Rich never recovered consciousness after surgery. He was surrounded by his loving family and friends when he left us.
Rich is survived by his father, Bill, of Redding; brothers Ron James of Mt. Helix, Greg and Mike James of San Diego, Pat James of Ocean Beach and Kelly Jay of Redding.
Rich was one-of-a-kind in the best sense. He loved life and everyone he met. He had amazing warmth and generosity of spirit. His legacy to the community will be felt for generations to come.
We miss him very much but know he wouldn’t want us grieve. He would want us to celebrate his life by celebrating our own. He would grin and say, “I’m too blessed to be stressed,” and then sing a few words from his favorite Bob Marley song “¦ “Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright.”
A celebration of Richard’s life will be held in Ocean Beach in May. The details and photos of Rich and his art will be available at www.richjames.org.