James Parton III
October 19, 1951 – June 4, 2023
Longtime Mill Valley resident and highly respected Bay Area attorney James Parton III passed away peacefully from cancer at his home on June 4, 2023. He was 71 years old.
Born in NYC to James Parton II, founder/publisher of American Heritage Magazine, and Jane Bourne Parton, Jim spent his early years in Westport, CT. He graduated in 1969 from the Loomis School (today Loomis Chaffee) in Windsor, CT and spent a year at Uppingham School in Rutland England. He then enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a B.A. cum laude in 1973.
After graduating, Jim moved to Washington, D.C. where he met Diane King, a divorcee with two boys, ages six and nine. They moved across the country so Jim could attend law school and married in 1976. In 1980, Diane passed away. Jim adopted and raised her two boys. The elder son, Phillip King Parton, a respected architectural designer, died of lung cancer in 2011.
Jim received a J.D. cum laude from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 1977 and was hired by the firm Lynch & Loofbourrow (ultimately Lynch, Gilardi & Grummer) as an associate. He achieved partnership in 1983, and practiced there for 25 years.
In 1982, Jim met Maureen Ann Brown, a second-year student at USF School of Law. They wed in 1985.
In 2008, Jim formed the law firm of Parton & Sell in San Rafael with Jim Sell, a Lynch colleague and then Ralph Rhoades becoming Parton, Sell, Rhoades. Jim specialized in employment law, product liability and commercial litigation and was honored as a “Super Lawyer.”
Jim and Maureen moved from San Francisco to Mill Valley in 1984 and together spent 39 years hiking the hills, raising their two children Jane and Nate and serving the community they love.
Fernwood Cemetery and Funeral Home is handling the arrangements. A celebration of life for family and friends will be held in July.
The family requests in lieu of flowers donations be made to the organizations that Jim loved most: The WestPoint Inn Association, Loomis Chaffee School or Pine Island Camp.
For a more extensive review of Jim’s life, please search James Parton III at legacy.com.
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