James Earle Landes, Jr. (1945–2025)

Beloved husband, father, educator, and friend

James Earle “Jim” Landes, Jr., passed away peacefully at home in San Jose, California, on March 31, 2025, surrounded by his loving family and close friends. He was 79 years old.

Jim was born on November 14, 1945, in Oakland, California, to the late James Earle Landes, Sr., and Priscilla Vivian Landes (née Guenette). He spent his early years in Oakland before the family moved to San Mateo.  He graduated from San Mateo High School in 1963.

A passionate learner with a love of language, Jim earned a B.A. in Creative Writing and a Master's in Linguistics from San Francisco State University, followed by an additional M.A. and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Michigan.

Throughout his career, Jim was a dedicated educator and researcher. His pioneering work on parental speech and child language acquisition was published in the peer-reviewed journal Language Learning, influencing the field for decades. He later served as Academic Director at the American Academy of English in San Francisco and spent over a decade teaching at De Anza College in Cupertino, where he supported students from around the world and helped shape international education policy through civic engagement. He retired from the Foothill-De Anza Community College District in 2010 but remained active in the field he loved.

Jim was a devout Catholic and attended mass regularly at St. Maria Goretti Church in San Jose and previously at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in San Mateo. Faith, family, and education were the cornerstones of his life. He had a deep appreciation for photography, travel, film noir, spaghetti westerns, and 1980s television. In later years, he developed a special interest in Chinese music, culture, and global affairs.

Jim is survived by his beloved wife, Minh Landes. He was a loving stepfather to Christy Nguyen Umstadter (husband Robert Umstadter) and Tammy Nguyen (husband Daniel), and a proud grandfather to Lewis and Benjamin. He is also survived by his siblings Francine, Norman, and Brian Landes.

Jim will be remembered for his quiet strength, his love of learning, his deep compassion, and his generous spirit. He will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

A funeral mass and celebration of life will be held on Saturday, April 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at Skylawn Funeral Home, Memorial Park & Crematory, 888 Lifemark Road, Half Moon Bay, CA 94019. Burial will follow at the same location.

Flowers are welcome. Please feel free to send them to Skylawn (address above). However, in place of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society in Jim’s memory. 

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