James Gordon Stanfield

August 1946 - September 2024

A long-time resident of San Francisco, Jim grew up in Hartland, Michigan and graduated from Hartland High School in Hartland, Michigan in the class of 1964. He graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1976 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, majoring in art with an emphasis in industrial design and photography. He served in the Air Force, where he was a photographer.

Jim worked for Stanford University at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) as a science and engineering associate, specializing in mechanical design, from May of 1989 till he retired in January 2012. SLAC was later restructured and renamed as the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Jim was a photographer for the Exotic Erotic Ball in San Francisco up to the last occurrence in 2009. He also authored a photography book, "Looking for Pictures," copyrighted in 2009.

Jim was a long time member of American Mensa. He gave talks to the San Francisco Regional Mensa (SFRM) group regional gatherings featuring his amazing photographs. He served as Treasurer of SFRM in 1997 and he hosted monthly gatherings at the Edinburgh Castle Pub. He was an enthusiastic member of the Outdoor Dilettantes (ODD) of SFRM, where he led many hikes in and around the lakes and hills of Marin County. He also enjoyed philosophical discussions on many topics, such as free will.

Jim was a dedicated member of the Big Ideas Reading Group (BIRG) for over 15 years and contributed interesting perspectives on many of the books and topics. He was especially fond of Calabi-Yau Manifolds. He held annual cookouts for BIRG members, featuring his signature marinated steaks cooked sous vide. When BIRG went out for dinner, it was often a Chinese restaurant, where he could get his favorite Kung Pao Chicken.

Jim used to be an active member of the Mycological Society of San Francisco.

Jim had a great sense of humor and quite a memory for jokes. Several articles that he authored were published in the Journal of Irreproducible Results, a science humor magazine.

James Stanfield will be missed immensely by many friends in Mensa, the Big Ideas Reading Group, SLAC, and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.