Dr. James Mercereau

Lucid, spirited, and productive to his last days of life on this earth. James endured a much unexpected heart attack sometime in the late night of the May 26th or in the early morning of May 27th. That morning he was found in his bed awake, but languid and confused and clearly needed hospital care. His last seven days of life were difficult but faced with great dignity and courage - some at the hospital and some, by his choice, at home. He rested a lot but was alert and clear-headed and recovered slightly for a few days to enjoy some final time with his family and friends and to tell us he loved us and to say goodbye, an absolute blessing to all of us there. James took his last breath in the morning of June 3, 2021 and is now being laid to rest with his beloved wife, Gabriella Mercereau, at the family plot at Pacific View Memorial Park in Newport Beach.

Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, James was the only child of Sara Francis and James Timothy Mercereau. Growing up in the depression years and World War II years as the son of an Airforce colonel, set the stage for a life of bootstrap accomplishments. He excelled in school and became a world famous PhD physicist in a time when physics was in its heyday and a premier career path. Named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in America in 1964 and soon after nominated for a Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of superconducting quantum interference device called a SQUID that is still relevant today for advances in superconductivity and net energy fusion. His work in cryogenics and superconductivity contributed to advances in defense and national security in submarine detection, and transportation like the first bullet trains in Japan. This technology is now being applied to new advancements in electric cars at Ford Motor Company where he worked in the 1960’s and led the low-temperature group at the research center in Southern California in Newport Beach. He was also a full tenured professor and director of the Cryogenics Lab at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA where he retired in 1980s. And a Professor in Residence at the University of California at Irvine.

James is survived by three sons, eight grandchildren, ten great grandchildren, and many friends and other relatives. He will be sorely missed but will remain an inspiration to us all.

Dearly departed and Rest in Peace, Dad.