Santa Clara County supervisors have named county
’s Civic Center Plaza after the late James P. McEntee Sr., who
for a number of years was associate pastor at Saint Catherine’s
Roman Catholic Church in Morgan Hill. More recently he held
leadership positions in county Human Relations, from 1976 to his
retirement in 2003, and was a model of human
kindness and compassion.
Santa Clara County supervisors have named county’s Civic Center Plaza after the late James P. McEntee Sr., who for a number of years was associate pastor at Saint Catherine’s Roman Catholic Church in Morgan Hill. More recently he held leadership positions in county Human Relations, from 1976 to his retirement in 2003, and was a model of human kindness and compassion.
McEntee died last September leaving a legacy of advocacy for social justice. He had a long history of building bridges between communities, bringing programs and services to the people in Santa Clara County. He was a founding member of the Confederation de la Raza Unida, founding chairperson of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara County, a founding member of the Emergency Housing Consortium and the Help House the Homeless Coalition.
In the late 1980s McEntee urged the county to open up its armories to temporarily house the homeless during winter, a program that has continued throughout the years. Jim, fluent in Spanish, also worked very closely with the United Farm Workers of America beginning in 1965. From 1962 to 1965, he served as executive director of the Latin American Mission Program in San Francisco.
During his tenure with the county, he served as director of the Human Relations Commission. He later served as manager of the Office of Human Relations until his retirement in 2003.
McEntee, who was involved in church, civic and community activities, was married to Ann McEntee, a true partner for social justice and a teacher, and with her reared a large multi-cultural family.
“Jim embodied the spirit of brotherhood among humanity, said county Supervisor Blanca Alvarado. “A great number of the gatherings, celebrations and programs Jim led took place right here on the plaza. It is as though his spirit is already present. It is fitting that we celebrate his life by naming this plaza in his honor.”
