James Gaza Obituary

Gaza, James L. Chicago entrepreneur and international business executive. Chicago – Local business leader James L. Gaza, 73, died Tuesday, May 25 in his Old Town home after battling cancer for nearly eight years. Just before his death, Gaza had celebrated his 39th wedding anniversary with his wife, Lynnette, on May 19, and had a reunion with old friends from his Steinmetz High School days. Born on Chicago's northwest side, Gaza grew up in a one-bedroom apartment above a tavern in Portage Park. His parents, John and Irene, worked in nearby factories. Gaza graduated from Smyser Grammar School in 1950, and Steinmetz High School in 1954, where he was catcher on the baseball team, captain of the football team, president of his senior class, and voted "Most Popular." He was also catcher for The Chicks, a baseball team formed in high school and coached by his father. The Chicks played against teams at the Chicago Park District and the Stateville and Joliet prisons. Gaza maintained close ties with his Chicks' team members throughout his life. Gaza won a football scholarship to Colorado State University, and was both offensive center and a defensive lineman. He was a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity, and in 1958 earned a BS in Electrical Engineering. Upon graduation he married Shirley Ibach, whom he had met at CSU. The couple, who later divorced, had two children, Brian and Cheryl. While working in Hong Kong in 1970 he met Lynnette Swanston, an Australian national. The couple was married in Tokyo in 1971, where they lived for a year and a half while Gaza opened ICC offices in Japan. They had two children, Michelle and Jonathan. Gaza began his professional career by working at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico before moving to Chicago where he worked for General Telephone, and then Associated Research. There he met Howard Morrison, and the two designed a lap-counter for toy racing cars. In 1964 they took their design to Strombecker Toy Corporation, a division of Tootsie Toy, where they were hired by Alan H. Shure. In 1967, Gaza joined with Shure to launch International Components Corporation (ICC), the crowning achievement and centerpiece of his professional career. ICC partnered with Igarashi Electric Works in Japan, a company that manufactured fractional-horsepower DC motors for the Strombecker Slot Car Racing product. Soon ICC was hired by companies such as Black and Decker, Sunbeam, Bostich, Disston, Schick, General Electric, Ketchum & McDougall, Olivetti and Fingerhut to manufacture motors for small appliances. In the 1970's ICC became the primary supplier of motors for Polaroid cameras, manufacturing over 20 million motors. ICC quickly grew, with offices in Germany, Italy, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Their Hong Kong manufacturing base expanded to Quingxi, China, where they were one of the first factories to open. With the success of "The Intellicharger", designed by ICC, Motorola hired the company as the major supplier of battery chargers for their cellular phones. ICC expanded again, to England, Scotland, Brazil, India, and Thailand. Soon Bose was added to ICC's list of customers. Following the death of Alan Shure in May 1990, Gaza became CEO of ICC, and also served as Chairman of the Board from 1990 until his death. Throughout his career, Gaza held a deep respect for capitalism and believed the best way to combat poverty was by providing opportunities for job training, skilled employment, and fair wages. His son Jonathan recalled asking his father why he worked so hard, and received the reply, "When you love what you do, it doesn't feel like work and it doesn't feel hard." In recognition of his many accomplishments, Gaza was inducted into The Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame in 1995. Outside of his career, Gaza was a generous supporter of The Chicago Architecture Foundation and environmental causes. He was a partner in the Fulton's on the River Restaurant, and a passionate, life-long supporter of The Cubs and The Bears. He felt his life was enriched by his world travels, over the course of which he developed many longstanding, close friendships, and the Gaza home was always a welcoming haven for guests from all walks of life and all corners of the globe. Gaza is survived by his wife, Lynnette, his first wife, Shirley Marcus, and four children, Brian (Janet) Gaza, Cheryl (Garry) Shoda, Michelle Gaza, and Jonathan (Kristy) Gaza as well as six grandchildren, Kira and James Gaza; Danielle and Brad Shoda; and Malakai and Janaia Gaza. A private memorial service is planned for late June. The family suggests that commemorative contributions be made to The Nature Conservancy in memory of James L. Gaza.