Lasting Memories

Warren Thoits
1922-Oct. 1, 2009
Palo Alto, California

Warren Thoits, a major downtown landowner whose family roots in Palo Alto went back more than a century, died Oct. 1. He was 87.

He was born in 1922 in the family home on Forest Avenue. He played football at Palo Alto High School and went on to Stanford University. He served as a lieutenant in the Navy during World War II in the Pacific.

After World War II, he graduated from Stanford University Law School and founded the local firm of Thoits, Love, Hershberger & McLean. He also managed the family-owned firm, Thoits Bros., Inc.

He was a founding director of Mid-Peninsula Bank and Greater Bay Bancorp. As one of the top three landlords whose family had purchased its property decades before, he could afford to be patient with small retail tenants going through financial difficulties. His family firm owns 17 downtown buildings, including major office buildings, as well as properties out of town.

"Warren had a calmness about him. He was able to have a calmer view of how the downtown works over a longer period of time than the developers who started later," said Jim Baer of Premiere Property Management. "He had good quality buildings and comfort in not having the same stresses of debt services at the same levels we did. And he knew the community better." As a local lawyer assisting in commercial transactions and estate planning, Thoits had an insider's view of the downtown economy. "He solved problems as a transaction lawyer rather than a litigator, so when he made deals he made friends," Baer said. "He was the kind of man who would start every conversation asking me about my family. I'll really miss him."

Drawn by the fledgling Stanford University, Thoits's grandparents settled in what would become Palo Alto in the early 1890s. His grandfather, Edward Kent Thoits, "recognized the commercial opportunities that would develop as the university grew," Thoits told the San Jose Mercury News in a 1994 interview. In 1893, Edward Thoits opened a shoe store on the first block of University Avenue, abutting a wooden sidewalk and an unpaved street. Thoits's father, Willis, and his uncle, Edward, both attended Stanford in the early years. Later they joined in operating the family shoe store and remained partners in business and investments throughout their lives. In 2000, he was honored by the Chamber of Commerce with a Tall Tree Award for Outstanding Professional.

He was a longstanding member of the Palo Alto Rotary, serving as president, and a board member of the Chamber of Commerce. He also was an active participant in and supporter of Avenidas, Adolescent Counseling Services, Palo Alto Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Peninsula Stroke Association.

"He was one of the greatest human beings I've ever worked for," said Candace Peterson, who for the past 20 years was property manager for Thoits Bros., Inc. "You couldn't ask for a better or more humanitarian person."

Thoits is survived by his second wife, Victoria; four children, Pamela Olson, Roderick Thoits, Edward Thoits, and Theresa Schoenwald; 14 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.