1954

scmintern@gmail.com

With a lifetime spent on building a career in finance, beginning with Kaiser Cement and Gypsum and then opening his own boutique investment banking firm, Strategic Capital, James Rowe ’54 was a tireless entrepreneur with a quick sense of humor. Born May 24, 1932, in Stockton, California, to Jack M. Rowe and Irene Pezzi Rowe, Jim attended Stockton High School and SCU. During his tenure with the Kaiser Companies, he was sent to Harvard University and earned an MBA. Soon after, he began an illustrious 30-year career in investment banking. Strategic Capital specialized in construction materials and nearly bought or sold every cement company around the globe. During a trip to Sonoma County in the early 1990s with his late wife, Jane, Jim discovered a naturally beautiful vineyard property in Dry Creek Valley in Healdsburg. Over the next 20 years, Jim transformed the ranch into an acclaimed winery, Pezzi King Vineyards. His time spent on tractors at his grandfather’s agricultural farms in Stockton served him well. Jim could always be seen on the ranch driving a forklift or a tractor, checking vines and grapes in from harvest. With Jim’s foresight, Pezzi King Vineyards (PKV) has won numerous wine competitions and awards, has been lauded by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and is considered one of the highest-rated zinfandels in the world. In March 2012, Jim and Cynthia Rowe sold Pezzi King Vineyards to Ken and Diane Wilson of Wilson Artisan Wineries. He died peacefully in Monterey on July 14, 2015, at 83 years old. Jim is survived by his wife of 13 years, Cynthia; his son, Tom (Pam) Rowe of Austin, Texas; his daughter-in-law, Michelle Rowe; and seven grandchildren: Nick, Lauren and Tommy Prasass, Jackie, Jenny, Mimi and Julia Rowe. Jim was preceded in death by his wife, Jane, his daughter, Susan Prasass, his son, Jim, Jr., and his grandson, Christopher. 

08 Nov 2018