James Bryant Downey of Los Altos Hills and Sonoma County, California, died peacefully at his home on Sunday, November 13, after a battle with cancer, surrounded by his wife, Kathy, his children, and beloved friends.  He was 82 years old.

Jim was born on September 4, 1940, in San Francisco, California.  A third generation San Franciscan, he was the third of six children born to James and Ethel (Bryant) Downey.  Even as a boy he worked long hours to help support his family, first with a paper route, and as a young man at his father's water company in Penngrove.  Jim graduated from St. Ignatius High School, where he was an all All-City basketball player and the student body vice president.  He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University and a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Arizona.  While at Santa Clara, Jim met his future wife, Kathleen Shea, on a Valentine's Day blind date.

A pioneering electrical engineer, after graduating from University of Arizona Jim worked in several innovative divisions of General Electric and Fairchild Semiconductor.  While at Fairchild, he participated in an electrical engineering co-op program at Stanford University.  He left Fairchild to join a start-up called Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), where he eventually rose to Senior VP and COO of what would become an industry giant. After his success at AMD, he joined another start-up, ReadRite, as CEO and helped bring the company public.  He was an early member of The Band of Angels, Silicon Valley's oldest angel investing group.

Despite his full professional schedule in his early career, Jim continued to travel to Sonoma every weekend—and holiday--to assist his father with the operation of the water companies.  This meant long hours digging, repairing lines and pumps, and teaching his children to read and record water meters.  When his father passed, Jim bought the Penngrove and Kenwood Village Water Companies from the Estate, and presided over them as a labor of love for the rest of his days.  He spent several years as the President of the Small Water Company division of the California Water Association (CWA).

Whether as a high-tech inventor and executive or as a water utility owner-operator, Jim loved what he did and worked hard to provide for his family throughout his life. Jim's happiest times were spent with his family. His and Kathy's home in Los Altos Hills was the location of many gatherings of friends and family over the decades. Their Deer Valley, Utah, home was the backdrop for many amazing trips skiing, playing in the snow, and playing board games at night. The beautiful home that he and Kathy built in Sonoma has been the setting for gatherings, large and small, over the last 20 years. He especially loved spending time in the gardens he cultivated at his homes and being outdoors with his grandchildren.  He was an amazing father, but his true calling came as a grandfather to Marley, Gabrielle, Ryan, Connor, John, and Quinn, who learned to add and subtract during jelly-bean Blackjack games with Grandpa Jim as the dealer.  Jim and Kathy loved to travel and spend time with friends, particularly his long-time friends from St. Ignatius and his Santa Clara University Bronco Alumni group.  A traditional, conservative man, his other passions included politics and classical music.

Jim is survived by his wife of 58-years, Kathleen Shea Downey and his three children, Dr. James Bryant Downey, Jr. (Heather), CDR John Shea Downey, USN, Ret. (Kelley), and Maureen Elizabeth Downey, DWS, CWE (George), his six grandchildren, and his sisters, Marianne (Haverty) Sanders, Eileen Downey, Gail Carcione, and Geraldine Canabou.  He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, John (Jack) Downey.

There will be a funeral Mass for Jim Downey at St Nicholas Church in Los Altos, on Saturday, November 26 ^th at 11:00 AM PST, followed by a reception at Los Altos Golf and Country Club.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Hospice of the Valley ( hospiceofthevalleys.org ) or the Hanna Boys Center ( www.hannacenter.org ) in Jim's name.