Ernest H. Renzel was a worldly man who dabbled in politics, sports, economics and even classical Greek philosophy. But San Jose was where his heart was.
"Dad loved to talk about the Ode of Athenian Youth and the idea that we should leave the city better than we found it," said daughter Jenifer Renzel, of Aptos. "He believed it and lived his life that way."
It was that spirit that helped Renzel land an airport for San Jose and earn himself the title, "Father of the San Jose International Airport."
Renzel died Saturday morning in his home in San Jose. He was 100 years old.
The third-generation San Josean expressed a lifetime of love for his city by serving as mayor, helping local non-profits and serving on boards such as the Santa Clara County Housing Board, San Jose Hospital board and the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury.
"Ernie's contributions were enormous," San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed said Sunday. "He set a really high standard for mayors. His loss is a great loss for the city."
Jenifer Renzel said her family learned more about Ernie Renzel and the impact he made at a 100th birthday celebration they threw for him last month. It was there that people, some of whom he met decades ago, came to thank him.
"So many people said, 'Ernie really helped get my career or business started,' " Jenifer Renzel said. "He never talked about it so I don't know the details, but he helped a lot of people on an individual basis, not just collectively."
Some of Renzel's last words of advice to the community were sought out by the San Jose Planning Commission. Renzel encouraged San Jose leaders to manage growth in a way that's sustainable and to push for a transparent, open government.
During World War II, an unwitting Ernie Renzel had participated in a housecleaning at San Jose City Hall.
At the time, taxi-service operator Charlie Bigley was viewed as a political boss who could always get a majority elected to the city council, until two councilmen went to war and left six of the seven council seats open in the 1944 election.
Bigley foes formed the Progress Committee, and its campaign manager, lawyer Harvey Miller, cajoled Renzel, Al Ruffo and four others into forming a slate.
Their victory resulted in Renzel's selection as president of the council in 1945. Before he turned the unofficial mayor's job over to Ruffo in 1946, Renzel had gotten mayor accepted as the title.
Renzel was a one-term councilman and spent the rest of his career as a low-profile man of influence in the community. "Sometimes you can do more from the outside than the inside," he said in a 1980 interview.
In the 1960s, when the San Jose Historical Landmarks Commission was trying to find a place for its historical museum, Renzel used that outside influence to obtain the property.
"My mother and father loaned the city the money to buy it," said Jenifer Renzel.
His roots in the city were deep. His grandfather, Conrad Renzel, was a San Jose baker who expanded his South First Street shop to groceries in the 1860s.
By the 1880s, Ernie's father, E.H. Renzel Sr., had moved on to wholesale grocery distribution and was vice president and manager of the Keystone Co., the area's pioneer wholesale grocery firm, at the turn of the 20th century.
An athlete who excelled in tennis, swimming and basketball, Ernie Renzel also enjoyed leadership and civic activities. He first joined the Rotary Club as student body president of San Jose High School and for years had perfect attendance, said Jenifer Renzel.
Ernie Renzel studied economics at Stanford University and later fell in love with Emily Hillebrand. They were married for 63 years. She died in 1999.
He followed his father into the grocery business but also made time for his passion - bringing an airport to San Jose.
In the late 1930s, he found the land for the airport, negotiated a price with the ranch land's owners and spearheaded a ballot measure to pay for it.
His involvement with the airport continued years later. He served as an airport commissioner from 1969 to 1977, and a bust of his likeness was placed in Terminal C in 1994. A decade later, the airfield - the runways and taxiways - was named after him.
"I'm glad we were able to name it for him and he could know that before he died," Reed said.
Staff columnist Sal Pizarro contributed to this report. Contact Julie Patel at (408) 271-3679 or [email protected] . For more obituaries go to www.mercurynews.com/obituaries/
