James Aloysius Smyk, born April 7, 1947, passed away at home, surrounded by family, on April 11, 2022. Jim was the ultimate family man and a fierce friend. He was strong and confident, caring, funny, and loving. He was an amazing teacher and knew everything, or could fudge knowing it. He always had a lesson to teach, a joke to make, a song quote to sing, a somewhat esoteric fact to share. He was a bear, both teddy and grizzly. He was a car guy and a music man. He was a beach bum, the ultimate classic, and icon of California cool. Jim was buff, tan and blonde until the day he died.

A third generation San Francsician, Jim grew up in the Sunset District of San Francisco, where he lived with his father Aloysius James Smyk, mother Virginia Ann Smyk, older sister Pat, and younger brothers Jerry and Tim (Dorothy). As a youth, he rode his bike all over Golden Gate Park and throughout the city, dismantled and rebuilt cars with his brothers in the family's five-car garage, and explored the Bay Area with his nine Labagh cousins.

Jim was a hero–an Eagle Scout Order of the Arrow, an in-flight mechanic on C-35s in the Air Force, and a San Francisco Fireman for twenty-five years. He could build and fix anything, and throughout his life, he envisioned and constructed spaces and genius inventions for elite clientele and for himself.

He met his wife Kathleen while renovating Mr. Lee's beauty salon on Nob Hill. It was love at first sight and the two worked, lived, and loved together for the next forty-five years. Kathleen and Jim moved to their family home in Point Richmond in 1981, where they raised their beloved daughters Alia Bergeron (McLean) and Brianna Reder (Nicholas).

Jim's pride was his family. Upon meeting Kathleen, Jim was immediately endeared to her family. He formed close bonds with her brothers Joe and Tim (Celia), and to her sister, Betty (Tom). Kathleen's parents, Mary and Joe Lombard, welcomed the couple and their extended network of friends into their home and hearts for family holidays and life celebrations alike. They provided a model of family and love that Jim emulated and instilled in his own family and crew of life friends who became like family during countless parties, gatherings, and family vacations.

Jim loved to travel. He loved the beach and body surfing in the ocean and skiing, particularly off the cliff-faces of snow-covered mountains. Though he lived in the Bay Area the majority of his life, he spent a few years living in Lanikai, Oahu, and traveled  to Tahoe, Laguna, Palm Springs, Hawaii, and across the globe. He visited Southern California and Louisiana often to see his daughters, Alia and Brianna, and their husbands, James McLean Bergeron and Nicholas Reder–who were like sons to Jim–and of course, his five grandchildren, Colette, Vivienne, and James Bergeron and Jackson and Dylan Smyk Reder, who he adored, who lit up Jim's heart with joy, and to whom he sought to teach everything he knew.

Following Jim's passing his immediate family gathered for an intimate beach celebration of Jim's spirit. A celebration of his life in San Francisco is forthcoming. To honor Jim's spirit, in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the National Park Foundation.

"For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt in the sun?" - Kahlil Gibran, "The Prophet"