James Dickason, 79; Former Chief of Newhall Empire
James F. Dickason, the founding family’s chosen head of Newhall Land & Farming Co. who helped broaden its focus from cattle to condos, develop Valencia and build the real estate developer into a publicly held powerhouse, has died. He was 79.
Dickason, who also headed the California Chamber of Commerce, died Aug. 26 in Reno.
A native of San Francisco with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard and a master’s degree from Stanford, Dickason spent his entire career with the Newhall company, joining it in 1951 and remaining on its board until 1995.
As executive vice president of development from 1963 to 1971, Dickason supervised the early construction and design of Valencia, the planned community 35 miles northwest of Los Angeles surrounding company headquarters in the Santa Clarita Valley. He was in that position when, to gain capital for the new undertaking, the company went public in 1969.
Dickason was named president in 1971 and took on the additional title of chairman of the board in 1979. Under the company’s planned leadership succession, he stepped down from both posts in 1985, but remained an influential board member for an additional decade.
His long tenure paralleled gargantuan growth in the company founded in 1883 by the five sons of Henry Mayo Newhall to farm the 220 square miles he bequeathed to them. With the scholarly, well-liked Dickason at the helm, the company for decades ranked among the state’s 10 largest landholders.
Dickason’s organizational energies were never limited to managing the Newhall empire. He simultaneously served his alma mater Stanford--as a trustee for 10 years, national chair for major fund-raising during the university’s centennial campaign, and on the advisory council of its graduate school of business. Dickason also supervised the university-based Hoover Institution.
As a benefactor, Dickason endowed a professorship in the humanities. Stanford rewarded him with the Golden Spike and Centennial Medallion for his fund-raising efforts, and the Ernest C. Arbuckle Award from the graduate school of business for professional leadership and public service.
In the Los Angeles area, Dickason headed the United Way of Los Angeles County and was active in the California Museum of Science and Industry, the Los Angeles County Music Center and Southwest Museum.
He was a board member and vice president of the Automobile Club of Southern California and on boards of several corporations, including Wells Fargo.
The businessman is survived by his wife of 40 years, Linda; three sons, Jim of Altadena, Tom of Lake Oswego, Ore., and Brad of San Francisco; a daughter, Margaret Dickason Clar of Noisy-le-Roi, France; and three grandchildren.
A memorial service is scheduled at 11 a.m. Sept. 29 at Church of Our Saviour, 535 W. Roses Road, San Gabriel.
The family has requested that memorial contributions be sent to Stanford University for management education in the graduate school of business, at: Memorial Gifts, the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center, 326 Galvez St., Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6105.
