James E. West; Donor for UCLA Alumni Center

James Everett West, former president of Rancho Mission Viejo, one of the biggest landholders in the state and a director for many of the Southland’s leading corporations, died Saturday at his home in Bellevue, Ida.

The UCLA graduate whose appreciation of his alma mater was reflected in the more than $500,000 gift that made possible the James E. West Alumni Center at the Westwood campus was 66 and had been battling cancer.

After receiving his undergraduate degree from UCLA he earned a law degree from Stanford and was in private practice for several years. His diversified business interests began with a liquor distributorship in Alaska and spread into restaurants.

In 1956 he became one of the original incorporators of Riverside International Motor Raceway and 10 years later was chairman of the board of Mission Viejo Co. When that company was acquired by Philip Morris Inc. in 1970, West became a director.

He also headed a 130,000-acre cattle ranch near Sonora, Calif.

At one time he was a director or officer for such companies as Tiny Naylor Restaurants, Santa Margarita Water District, Avery Industries Inc. of Cleveland, Livingston-Graham and many others.

The $3-million alumni center he helped endow is designed to provide information to alumni and students and houses a two-story galleria, central ticket office for all UCLA events and offices and conference rooms. It was dedicated in 1976 and will be the site for a memorial service for West on Friday at 3 p.m.

His leaves his wife, Lita, a son, daughter, stepson, and four grandchildren.