James L. Tathwell, 85, Former Director at Fluor Corp., Dies

James L. Tathwell, a former director of Fluor Corp., has died of pneumonia at age 85.

Born in Kansas City, Mo., Tathwell attended the University of Kansas at Lawrence. He began his career with Mobil Oil Corp., worked for Phillips Petroleum Co., and joined Fluor Corp. in Irvine in 1941, where he worked until he retired in 1979.

“He was a remarkable individual with a great sense of values that came from his youth in the Midwest,” said Vince Kontny of Newport Beach, retired president and chief operating officer of Fluor. “His strongest contract throughout his life was a firm handshake.”

Tathwell’s professional legacy included establishing Fluor’s foreign operations, where he was a pioneer, Kontny said. Tathwell moved with his family to London for a year in 1957 to open the company’s first international office.

“He traveled all around the world and was involved in building refineries in Iran and Saudi Arabia,” daughter Joy Curtin of Corona del Mar said Friday. He was appointed to Fluor’s board of directors in 1966 and served as a trustee of the Fluor Foundation.

Tathwell, who lived in Corona del Mar, had a history of heart problems, Curtin said. Though he had been in good health recently, he collapsed two weeks ago at a restaurant during a 59th anniversary dinner with his wife, Helen Moore Tathwell. He died Tuesday at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach.

Besides his wife and Curtin, he is survived by daughter Jean Fouladi of Newport Beach and granddaughter Natalee Fouladi of Denver. A memorial service is set for 11 a.m. Friday at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Hoag Heart Institute and Hoag Hospital.