Obituary: Capt. J. R. “Jim” Cloud Jr. (Aug. 4, 1925 - Oct. 8, 2009)

Born August 4, 1925, in San Francisco to parents Mildred and James R. Cloud Sr., Jim led an extraordinary life growing up on the waters of the San Francisco Bay region and traveling all along the West Coast and Hawaiian Islands with the family-owned deep sea diving construction business.   At 14, Jim began his deep sea diving experiences on projects at Mare Island Nav­al Shipyards. Fol­­lowing a near fatal diving accident involving his father at Pearl Harbor just months before the war, the family returned to California where they established the J Bar C Ranch at McKeon near Foresthill, Calif., and operated their own logging, lumber mill and lode mining concerns.  Through these ventures he became an expert in operating heavy equipment and using explosives. 

Jim served honorably during WW II as a tech sergeant in the U.S. Army’s 9812th Combat Engineer group assigned to the Manhattan Project, where he was in charge of all heavy equipment used on the project.   Jim was also a licensed Merchant Marine Captain and operated vessels, barges and dredges of various sizes and eventually retired as an operating engineer in the mid-80’s.  He and Olga moved to Crescent City and built their beautiful retirement home a stone’s throw from the sea that he loved.  Jim was known for his volunteerism and served as a Scoutmaster and Post Advisor for the Boy Scouts and proudly saw several young men achieve Eagle Scout under his guidance. 

He served 20 years with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary units and was a regular figure on the local docks as a prolific com-mercial vessel examiner and recognized many times for his service. He was also an incredibly talented master model builder and enjoyed creating finely detailed scale models of sailing and military vessels and planes that took a year or more to complete, all created from wood and other materials that he crafted by hand from his own plans.  Jim will be dearly missed by friends and family alike. 

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to any of the diabetes, kidney or heart disease foundations in his name.