Jim Vargas of Sausalito, veteran television reporter, dies at 78

Jim Vargas, a Sausalito resident with a 41-year television news career, died Jan. 14 at MarinHealth Medical Center. He was 78.

Mr. Vargas died of natural causes, Marin County Chief Deputy Coroner Roger Fielding said.

Mr. Vargas was a fixture on Bay Area television, starting at KGO-TV in the early 1970s and ending with his 2011 retirement from KTVU. He also covered politics at ABC7 for 20 years.

Mr. Vargas won an Emmy award for his coverage of the abduction of heiress Patty Hearst by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 1974. He received a Peabody Award for his team’s coverage of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, according to ABC7.

Mr. Vargas also covered other major Bay Area news stories such as the 1978 assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, and the 1991 wildfires that devastated the Oakland Hills.

Tom Vacar, a KTVU reporter, said he knew Mr. Vargas for 47 years. Vacar said he visited Mr. Vargas several times at MarinHealth Medical Center.

“I can tell you that Jim accepted his coming death with a matter-of-fact bravery as we openly talked about it,” Vacar said Monday. “He did what he did as a reporter: looked at the facts, analyzed them and acted on them, making sure he had all his details wrapped up, and his family fully informed.”

Mr. Vargas grew up in San Francisco and graduated from Archbishop Riordan High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, where he also edited the Daily Californian.

“Vargas’ family said it was covering the political action and riots of the late 1960s and early ’70s that cemented his goal of becoming a journalist,” the National Academy of Television, Arts and Sciences said in an article announcing his death.

Mr. Vargas was involved in charities and nonprofits in Marin County. He served as a volunteer and co-organizer for the Sausalito Art Festival, and helped raise money for St. Vincent’s School for Boys in San Rafael.

Kent Eagleson, former executive director at the school, said Mr. Vargas organized annual golf tournament fundraisers and other benefits for the school.

“He always tried to fit us in his schedule,” Eagleson said. “What stood out for me was, when things got controversial or if there was a difference of opinion, he was always the voice of reason or the calming person in the room.”

Eagleson said Mr. Vargas “was always for the underdog.”

“If there were kids at St. Vincent’s who needed things and did not have the resources, he always responded to that,” he said.

Mr. Vargas’ survivors include his sister Mali Trower and 11 nieces and nephews.

A viewing is scheduled for 5 p.m. Feb. 5 at St. Brendan Catholic Church at 29 Rockaway Ave. in San Francisco, followed by a Mass at the church at 10 a.m. Feb. 6.