John Mahan, Santa Clara civic leader
By Julie Patel
Mercury News
John Mahan was a quiet but powerful force in the valley for five decades, as a Santa Clara councilman and a civic leader.

``He wasn't the most talkative council member, but when he talked, everyone listened,'' Santa Clara City Manager Jennifer Sparacino said of Mr. Mahan's time on the council in the 1970s and '80s.

Mr. Mahan died Monday at a VA Palo Alto Health Care System facility after a yearlong battle with Lou Gehrig's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

A devout Catholic, Mr. Mahan graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose. He joined the U.S. Navy, serving three years during World War II, then attended San Jose State University. In 1948, he married his high school sweetheart, Laura, whom he had met on a summer cannery job.

As the couple raised three daughters, Mr. Mahan managed an electronics and appliance store and volunteered for various city commissions.

Mr. Mahan, whose father died when he was 3, worked at his grandparents' bakery in San Jose as a teenager. His mother, a teacher, worked at the bakery, too, and the family spent many holidays baking turkeys and hams ordered by customers.

``They worked hard together and had fun together,'' said his daughter, Santa Clara Mayor Patricia Mahan.

Mr. Mahan served two terms on the city's Civil Service Commission, two terms on the Planning Commission and 11 years on the council, after he was appointed for a one-year term.

He was also a Santa Clara Unified School District board member. He joined the Santa Clara Host Lions Club in 1958 and during the 48 years that he was in the club served as secretary, treasurer, president, deputy district governor and district governor. He had many years of perfect attendance at club meetings. He was also an active volunteer for the club's Blind Center.

Patricia Mahan said she knew about ``Dad's meeting nights'' as a girl but didn't fully appreciate his role in the city until she grew older and was inspired to serve on the student council, the planning commission and the community college board, and eventually the city council.

``It wasn't ever about him, it was about what's best for everyone. He led by serving other people,'' she said.

Colleagues say Mr. Mahan was thoughtful, reflective and articulate.

``People respected him for that, they looked up to him, and they looked to him for leadership,'' Sparacino said.

About 20 years ago, the council was divided on whether the city should borrow $130 million to buy Great America amusement park, blocking a developer's plan to turn the site into an office park. After a lot of thought, Mr. Mahan cast the deciding vote to approve the deal.

``He didn't just make decisions intuitively. He worked at it,'' Sparacino said. ``He asked what all our options are, what are the costs, what's at stake?''

The city eventually sold the theme park but kept the land. It paid off its debt last year and is now getting $5.3 million in annual rent from the park operators.

With the San Francisco 49ers' plan to propose a new stadium in Santa Clara early next year, Patricia Mahan will confront some of the same issues her father faced when the Giants wanted to build a ballpark in the city in the late 1980s.

``Considering what the Giants seem to want, and what I don't think we have, I'm trying to find out if it's worth our time to pursue this,'' Mr. Mahan told the Mercury News in 1988, his last year on the council. Two years later, voters in more than five cities in the county shot down a tax increase that would have helped pay for the park.

Patricia Mahan said that despite the time her father devoted to public life, he spent a lot of time at home, too. She remembers him making banana pancakes and German foods, like sauerbraten and rabbit. He also seemed to know something about almost every subject she studied.

``He could help me with anything except French -- math, geography, you name it,'' she said. In recent years, she said he was even more computer-savvy than she.

Mahan said her son, Colin, was a troublemaker when he was 3, but he seemed to mellow around his grandfather.

``Why are you such a good boy with Grandpa?'' she asked the toddler. ``He said something like, `Mommy, Grandpa just has a way about him that's kind and gentle.' ''

John Mahan

Born: April 30, 1924, in San Jose

Died: Dec. 4, 2006, in Palo Alto

Survived by: wife, Laura of Santa Clara; daughters, Regina Mahan Visger and Patricia Mahan of Santa Clara, and Bernadette Mahan White of Danville; and grandchildren, Nick and Teddy Visger, Colin Boyles, and Katherine and Allyson White.

Services: Pending

Memorial: VA Hospital in Palo Alto, 3801 Miranda Ave., Palo Alto, Calif., 94304.

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Thomas Edward Shimon


Thomas Edward Shimon, age 57, of 1326 N. 27th Street, Sheboygan, died at his home Wednesday morning, December 6, 2006, as a result of Amytropic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig's Disease.


A Mass of Christian Burial for Tom Shimon will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, December 9, 2006, at St. Dominic Catholic Church, 21st Street and Geele Avenue, Sheboygan. Visitation of family and friends will be held at the church from 9:00 a.m. until time of the Mass at 10:00 a.m. The Rite of Committal and interment will take place at 2:00 p.m., Sat. Dec. 9th, at St. Mary's Cemetery in Reedsville.


A complete obituary will be placed in Friday's edition of The Press.


The Sheboygan Press


December 7, 2006