FRIENDS, FAMILY, POLITICIANS and members of the community remembered a pioneer who never gave up his dream for mass transit in Santa Clara County.
Rod Diridon Sr.’s wife Gloria Duffy said the event was a celebration of community and collaboration, because that’s who her husband was. His life was inspired by his upbringing at the foot of Mount Shasta among small towns where there were few resources and people often in need.
“He realized that improving life for people and other species on the planet depended on our ability to see what we have in common and bridge our divides,” she said at the service. “His grandfather taught him to fly fish on the Sacramento and Klamath rivers. He caught fish and gave them to his neighbors.”
The remembrance, held this past Thursday at the San Jose Civic Auditorium, began and ended fittingly with Duffy blowing a train whistle.
Diridon Sr., a former county supervisor, was a light-rail pioneer and high-speed rail advocate. San Jose Diridon Station honors his transit legacy at the railroad depot. The Santa Clara County Firefighters Honor Guard placed Diridon Sr.’s ashes in the trainman’s lamp he used in his 20’s while working on the railroad and a porcelain container Duffy made. The lamp and container were placed by his portrait on the stage. The ceremony ended with the U.S. Navy Color Guard presenting an American flag to Duffy and the San Jose Symphony String Quartet playing the Navy Hymn.
“Rod was a friend and mentor and someone who could see both the big picture of the big, complicated policy issues that affect all of us, but also the most, intimate, simplest things,” San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan told San José Spotlight. “He always encouraged me to get home and kiss my kids goodnight. He always put people at the center of his work.”
Mahan said Diridon Sr.’s impact, optimism and his faith in people rippled out to city halls, classrooms, community organizations, and neighborhoods across the region.
“He knew that mobility meant opportunity, and he spent his life making sure that everyone … had access to that opportunity by fighting for a world-class transit system,” Mahan said. “He understood that progress is not only measured by what we build, but also by what we preserve.”
Other speakers included San Jose Councilmember Michael Mulcahy, Rod Diridon, Jr., Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Otto Lee, Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, former Supervisor Ken Yeager, Mineta Transportation Institute Executive Director Karen Philbrick, Congressmember Zoe Lofgren and many more who honored a humble but larger than life man who touched all who knew him.
Standing up for principles
Yeager said Diridon Sr. was a man of principle. In 1979, while serving on the Board of Supervisors, he voted to pass an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gays and lesbians in housing and employment despite it being controversial. His vote led to him losing the California State Senate race in April 1980. Yeager said Diridon did not regret his vote, believing “if you don’t vote your conscience, you’re not worth a damn.”
Lofgren said, via video, when they served together on the County Board of Supervisors there were initially some “scratchy” times. But that faded and they worked together on numerous projects including saving the county hospital from closing and encouraging the transit district to expand the light rail system.
“Rod was public spirited. He did so much for our community while serving on the board for not only the hospital, health services, civil rights, transit and the environment,” Lofgren said. “He was really a tremendous public servant. When his term was up, he didn’t just fade away. He started the Mineta Transportation Institute. It made a huge impact.”
In addition to serving on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, Diridon Sr. ran the Mineta Transportation Institute at San Jose State University and was president of the Rotary Club of San Jose. He chaired the Transit Cooperative Research Program, a branch of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and served on the California High Speed Rail Authority Board and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Like his father, Diridon Sr. worked on the railroad to pay his way through college, working weekends shifts as a brake man. Hailed as the “Father of Modern Transit,” he transformed Silicon Valley’s transit system.
Remembering stories
His daughter Mary Diridon said her family received an outpouring of condolences, support and admiration for her father.
“It’s been incredible to hear the stories, especially of how he helped people that he never told anyone about,” she told San José Spotlight. “People are telling their stories about the impact that he had on them. Seeing it… has been really heartwarming.”
Some of her favorite memories with her father were fishing and hiking together. She admired his commitment to serving the community.
“His spirit of service was such a part of my upbringing,” she said.
Pelosi sent a video recognizing his vision, leadership and commitment to public service, which she said transformed the Bay Area.
“He understood that transportation is about more than trains, buses and tracks. It’s about opportunity. It’s about connecting people to jobs, education, health care, housing and learning. It’s about building strong communities and a stronger future,” she said. “Progress requires not only infrastructure, but ideas and leadership.”
Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.