Former city manager James Rez dies at 91
James Rez, who spent about five years as Glendale’s city manager during his 30 years in municipal government, died from pneumonia on Oct. 14 in Glendale. He was 91.
Rez was born in Santa Ana after emigrating from Budapest, Hungary, at the age of 12. He later joined the Navy’s V-12 college training program, spending two years at Occidental College, followed by Officer Candidate School at Notre Dame.
After tours in Europe and the Pacific, Rez returned to Occidental for graduate school to study political science. During his studies, he took an internship with the city of Glendale’s personnel department.
Although for a short time Rez considered teaching public administration, he eventually worked as assistant personnel director in Glendale from 1953 until 1959. Rez then returned to his hometown and filled a similar role for both the city of Santa Ana and the Newport Mesa Unified School District at the same time.
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Married in 1951, Rez met his wife, Nancy, through the Occidental Greek system, then they had their son, Dave, in 1957 and daughter, Peggy, in 1959.
“He was working in public service at a time when there really weren’t a lot of bloated salaries,” Dave Rez said. “I know that he never made a lot of money working there. It was not one of his considerations when taking any job. It was more about doing what he loved.”
James Rez returned to Glendale in 1967 as the city’s personnel director, then was promoted to assistant city manager in 1974. Beating out 60 other candidates, he succeeded Hugh McKinley in 1983 as Glendale city manager until he retired in 1988.
“He developed a loyalty to Glendale,” Dave Rez said. “In a weird way, I think of Glendale as his hometown even though he wasn’t born there.”
Rich Sokolowski first met James Rez during an interview process for a position as an administrative intern with the city of Glendale. Sokolowski was mentored by James Rez and later developed a lifelong friendship, recently celebrating James Rez’s 91st birthday in March.
“He was very supportive. He always tried to guide you. He always tried to find out what were your goals, what were your objectives,” Sokolowski said. “Outside of work, he was a very personable friend, always there when you needed him. It’s really hard to put into words how I feel about him.”
After retirement, James Rez volunteered at the Metropolitan Water District, representing Glendale on its board of directors. He also volunteered two 5 a.m. shifts a week at the City of Hope in Duarte, inspired by a successful prostatectomy at the cancer center 25 years ago.
When he wasn’t volunteering, James Rez spent his retirement fishing with his dog Zachary.
Richard Hughes, a former consultant for Glendale, met James Rez after being hired to conduct a study on the police department and, like many others, stayed friends with him well after retirement.
“Jim was one of the finest public servants I had the privilege to work for. He had the highest ethics, the persistence to get important things done, a humility and a marvelous sense of humor,” Hughes said. “His frame of reference in making decisions was ‘what is best for the public.’”
Rez is survived by his son, Dave, and daughter, Peggy.
James Rez will be cremated, with plans to have his ashes scattered along with his late wife’s ashes near the family cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains.
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Jeff Landa, jeff.landa@latimes.com
Twitter: @JeffLanda
