San Joaquin County CA Archives Obituaries.....French, James Rodney October 15, 2005
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K T bluewolf@onemain.com November 8, 2005, 12:30 am

The Tracy Press
James R. French

Sept. 21, 1921 — Oct. 15, 2005

 A memorial service will be Saturday morning for James Rodney French, 84, who 
served as superintendent of Tracy Public Schools 20 years before retiring.

He died Saturday at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital after a lengthy illness.

A native of Dix, Neb., Mr. French graduated from Chadron College in Chadron, 
Neb., and served as a U.S. Navy communications officer during World War II. As 
a lieutenant junior grade attached to an Army unit, he participated in the 
liberation of Guam.

Following the war, Mr. French started his career in education as a high school 
teacher and superintendent in Kilgore, Neb. He then became superintendent of 
the Crawford School District in Nebraska.

Mr. French came to California in the 1950s and was a middle school principal 
in Marin County while earning a master’s degree at Stanford University.

He served as superintendent of schools in Coalinga and then became 
superintendent of Dinuba Public Schools, which provided joint administration 
for the elementary and high school districts in the Fresno County community.

It was his experience of managing a single administration for two districts in 
Dinuba that led trustees of the Tracy High and Tracy Elementary school 
districts to hire him in 1962 to form a common administration.

What became known as Tracy Public Schools managed both the educational and 
business operations for the high school and elementary districts before the 
districts were unified in 1996.

Dr. Louis Bohn, who joined Tracy Public Schools in 1964 to become director of 
curriculum and later assistant superintendent for instruction, said the 
challenges during Mr. French’s tenure were numerous.

“Jim was very successful in working with two boards and meshing the operations 
of the two districts,” Bohn said.

“His management style was to give people working under him the responsibility 
and flexibility to do their jobs, with accountability.”

During the 1960s and 70s, Tracy schools expanded vocational programs, 
developed Tracy Adult School offerings and implemented federal programs 
including the National Defense Education Act for math and science and Title 1 
for students from low-income families. Counseling services and special-
education programs also were developed.

Facilities at Tracy High were expanded with the addition of the social science 
building, Hawley-Westlake Building and Emma Baumgardner Theatre. Additions 
were made to elementary schools in the district as well.

French was instrumental in completing the school districts’ acquisition of 25 
acres of land (for $4,000 per acre) that later became the sites for Villalovoz 
Elementary School and Williams Middle School and 77 acres (for $5,000 per 
acre) that became the Merrill F. West High School campus.

“Jim saw the growth coming and acted to push for the purchase of the property 
well before it was needed,” Bohn said.

After French retired in the spring of 1982, he continued to be an active 
partner in a group that constructed and managed apartment complexes in Tracy. 
He enjoyed doing carpentry work on the apartment buildings and helping friends 
with remodeling projects.

A long-time Rotarian, Mr. French served as president of both the Dinuba and 
Tracy Rotary clubs and had 55 years of perfect attendance before illness 
forced him to stop attending Rotary meetings.

He was a member of the First United Methodist Church, a life member of Tracy 
Post 1537, Veterans of Foreign Wars and a member of Mt. Oso Masonic Lodge. He 
enjoyed tennis, golf, travel and playing bridge.

Recently, the administration building of the Tracy Unified School District was 
named the James R. French Education Center.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Bernice French, of Tracy; son, Rodney 
Gene French of Altamont Springs, Fla.; daughter, Nancy Wyatt of Vancouver, 
B.C., Canada; grandchildren, Sarah McGowan and Ellen Trainor, both of 
Sebastopol; great-grandson, Elijah Trainor of Sebastopol; sister, Elaine 
Steele of Loveland, Colo.; and brother, Gordon French of Dix, Neb.

Saturday’s memorial service will begin at 10 a.m. at the First United 
Methodist Church, 1610 East St. Interment will be private.

There will be no visitation. Hotchkiss Mortuary, 5 W. Highland Ave., is 
handling arrangements.

Contributions in Mr. French’s name can be made to the Tracy Rotary Club 
Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 145, Tracy 95377-0145, or to the First United 
Methodist Church, 330 Acacia St., Tracy 95376.

Published on Wednesday, October 19, 2005, in the Tracy Press. 


Additional Comments:
Volunteer submission - No relation to the deceased.
http://www.tracypress.com/obituaries/


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