James D. Anderson (Jim)

James D. Anderson (Jim) passed away in February, 2026, having lived a truly varied and multi-faceted life. He was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1935, and was forever proud of the diversity he found and experienced in life and the accomplishments he achieved.

He attended New York City public schools, including the famed High School of Music and Art, then Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, graduating in 1957. He pursued graduate work in French and Spanish at Florida State University, receiving his MA in 1959.

He served in the US Army as a Russian Interpreter-Translator, and spent a short tour of duty in Vietnam on a military intelligence assignment.

Thereafter, he returned to civilian life and continued post graduate work at the Sorbonne and the Institute de Phonetique in Paris, earning his PhD in Linguistics and French at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1971.

He served as Assistant Professor at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, then as tenured Associate Professor of Modern Languages, Vice Chairman of the Department, and Director of the Linguistics Program at the University of Louisville. He authored several articles and publications, and presented several papers at professional conferences in the area of French and English language and lexicography, and chaired several seminars at the Modern Language Association annual meetings in the 1970’s.

In 1980, he left academia to follow a career change and live in San Francisco where, except for two intervening years spent in Palm Springs, he resided until his death. He was employed at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, AT&T, the IRS, and finally at Charles Schwab & Co., where he remained until he retired.

At Schwab, he designed and coordinated the construction of numerous multi-million dollar branch offices, including the customer service facility on the Concourse of the World Trade Center. Later, he served in project oriented financial services capacities, centering on branch operations.

After retirement from Schwab and the loss of his lifetime companion, Thomas (Tommy) Darago in 2002, Jim devoted much of his time to voluntary work at Most Holy Redeemer Roman Catholic Church in the Castro, serving in the religious ministry, hospitality committees, and as counselor in the Aids Support Group.

Jim traveled extensively, particularly with his lifetime partner, to all seven continents, Antarctica included, and over 60 countries.

He leaves two cousins on the East Coast, and many friends and acquaintances.
He will be greatly missed by all those he touched.

A Memorial Mass will be held in his honor at 11:00 a.m., on June 6, 2026, at the Holy Redeemer Catholic Church at 100 Diamond Street, San Francisco, California.