Daily News Archive
Brought to you by Home Furnishings Business
Jay McMahan Dies at 88
May 9,
2011 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in Obituaries on May 10, 2011
James A. "Jay" McMahan, former president of McMahan's Furniture and director of Williams-Sonoma, died May 3 at age 88.
McMahan was born in Bakersfield, Calif., the same day that his father, James I. McMahan, one of the founding members of the National Home Furnishings Association, opened the first McMahan's Furniture Store in a company owned building. The company, which had opened its first location in 1919 in a leased building in Bakersfield, grew to be a Top 25 furniture retailer and one of the largest independent furniture retailers in the country.
Jay McMahan joined the company in 1942 at the age of 19. After his father's death in 1951, he took over as president of McMahan's Furniture, helping to grow it into a 50 store chain throughout the western United States. Then in 1978, he and a partner, Howard Lester, bought a controlling interest in a cook store called Williams-Sonoma and took it public in 1983. McMahan was a director of Williams-Sonoma from 1979-2003 and a Director Emeritus since 2003.
Jay was an avid lifetime golfer, a fabulous skier, a horseman, a world traveller since early childhood and an entertaining story and joke teller. To punctuate a well told joke, he often couldnt resist a self-congratulatory knuckle scrub to his head.
Jay was a member of the Los Angeles Country Club, The Beach Club, The Valley Club of Montecito and The Eldorado Country Club. He golfed passionately into his early 80s.Jay is survived by his wife of 68 years, Jacqueline. They had six children, 14 grandchildren and nine great grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the UCLA Center on Aging, c/o Gary Small, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles 90024-1759.