::: COMMUNITY NEWS

Jim Embree's first reaction to his lung cancer was, "We can fight this," but he also told his wife, Judith, "I have really lived a good life. I've been able to accomplish more than I dreamed I could..."

Community volunteer and 16-year resident Jim Embree dies at 72

Published Monday, October 2, 2006

Jim Embree was a man who commanded attention without trying.

"He had a presence," said his neighbor, Gaby Martel. "He spoke and people listened. He was very civic-minded. … He was a loving man. … He always gave us big hugs.. ... He was a gentle man and a gentleman."

At 6-feet-5, Mr. Embree was strikingly tall and lean. "He used his height to his advantage, but not to anyone's disadvantage," said his wife, Judith, a petite woman who described her husband as "a gentle giant."  

"His size and his nature really had a lot to do with his effectiveness. You couldn't ignore him."

Recalling Mr. Embree's participation in community meetings on hot-button topics, retired Security Chief Jim Noller said, "He was kind of the mild guy in the back who would listen and consider and then come forward with something everyone agreed with. … I admired him immensely. I never saw him lose his temper. He's going to be missed, that's for sure."

Mr. Embree died at his home Thursday with his family by his side after a year-long struggle with lung cancer. He was 72.

A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, Oct. 7, at 11 a.m. at Lake Clementia Amphitheater.

Judith Embree said her husband's first reaction to the disease was, "we can fight this," but he also told her, "I have really lived a good life. I've been able to accomplish more than I dreamed I could, had more than I thought I ever would, and just played the hand I've been dealt."

The Embrees were married 32 years. "They were always together. … He wanted her by his side constantly (during his illness)," said their friend Paul Gumbinger. "They had a great marriage. They were a great couple."

They traveled the world together, competed at cards and dominos and enjoyed a friendship as well as a marriage. "Both of us expected a lot out of our family and each other and we got it," said Judith Embree.

They met when Judith was a consultant working on a project with him at the California Youth Authority, where Mr. Embree was on staff. He invited her to lunch later in the week and she checked her planner, saw she had a very busy schedule that day, and said lunch would be just fine. Eighteen months later they were married.

Mr. Embree began his career with the California Youth Authority as a parole agent and worked his way up through the ranks to become administrator of the Toliver Center in Oakland, superintendent of the Northern Clinic and the Preston School of Industry in Ione. He was assistant deputy director of institutions and camps at CYA headquarters before retiring in 1988.

RanchoMurieta.com 2003 file photo Judith and Jim Embree were married 32 years. "They were always together. … He wanted her by his side constantly (during his illness)," said a friend. "They had a great marriage. They were a great couple."

After retiring from CYA, he went on to teach criminal justice at Sacramento City College, and served on county, state and federal commissions on delinquency and juvenile justice.

He also served as president of Friends-Care, a support group for families of prison inmates, and was honored by the group at a dinner in June. His stepdaughter accepted the tribute for him.

The Embrees originally planned to move to Rancho Murieta in 1981 after they built a home on Anillo Drive. They had acquired the lot in a lottery held two years earlier, when the number of buyers exceeded the number of lots in the new phase of development.

Instead, the couple moved into a 5,000-plus-square-foot house at Preston after Mr. Embree was named superintendent.

The famous reform school was founded in the late 19th century, and the original Romanesque Revival building, known as Preston Castle, has been named a California historical landmark and appears on the national register of historic places.

While he was superintendent in the early '80s, Mr. Embree's decision to hire Bobbi Belton had far-reaching effects. "If Jim hadn't hired me, I never would have met (my husband) Art," Belton said. "It's so ironic that Jim died on our anniversary."

Both couples eventually settled in Rancho Murieta.

The Embrees arrived 16 years ago and become active in the community, volunteering for committees and joining the Kiwanis Club. Mr. Embree was instrumental in bringing suicide prevention and drug awareness programs to the community last year.

He also participated in the Joint Security Committee and trained for Volunteers in Partnership with the Sheriff, the program that provides staffing for the James L. Noller Safety Center.

"It was very sad that he couldn't follow through … he'd gone through all the training, but he just didn't have the energy … He was happy that it finally happened," said Judith Embree of the center. Her husband attended the opening of the safety center in July.

James Arlington Embree Jr. was born in New York City on Jan. 18, 1934. A year after he graduated from high school, he enlisted in the Marines and headed for boot camp on Parris Island, S.C.

Judith Embree said an 18-month tour of duty in Japan was one of the things that changed her husband's life. He was "very taken with the civility of Japanese culture" and "the accepting, gracious" attitude of the people.  

Four years as a Marine might have turned into a career except for basketball coach Stu Inman, who encouraged him to go on to college and offered him a basketball scholarship. Mr. Embree left the Marines with the rank of sergeant and earned a degree in sociology from San Jose State College.

In the late 1980s, Mr. Embree began writing an autobiography entitled "Just Another Colored Kid From Harlem" for his grandchildren, stressing the lessons he'd learned in overcoming racist and self-defeating attitudes to accomplish his goals in life.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Embree is survived by his sons Bruce and Paul Embree, stepdaughters Karen Maxwell and Leslie Maxwell, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his stepdaughter, Kristen Maxwell.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to Friends-Care, 5890 Newman Court, Sacramento 95819 or Boys and Girls Club of Greater Sacramento, 1117 G St., Sacramento 95814.