Lasting Memories

James III Seward McCain
1920-Sept. 20, 2007
Palo Alto, California

James Seward McCain III, 87, a resident of Palo Alto, died Sept. 20 of a heart attack.

He was born in Demarest, N.J. After graduating from high school in 1937, he worked aboard the Queen of Bermuda for a year, then spent a year in Bergen Junior College.

He enlisted in the Navy in 1940 and served aboard the USS New Orleans in the South Pacific as a radioman. While on leave that year, he married his high-school sweetheart, Dorothy Cassidy, on Christmas.

On Dec. 7, 1941, he was aboard the New Orleans, docked at Pearl Harbor. He spent the rest of the war in battles zones in the Pacific.

After the war, he and his family settled in San Francisco and later in Palo Alto.

He worked for 19 years at the San Francisco Housing Authority. He owned his own business and later his own real estate brokerage.

He became a member of Wesley United Methodist Church in 1951 and sang in the choir for 30 years. He was an avid barbershop singer, singing in several quartets throughout his life.

He is survived by Dorothy McCain, his wife of 66 years; sons, Bill and Seward McCain of Palo Alto; two sisters; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.