[courtesy of our friends at alt.obituaries] S.F. police inspector, bar owner Jack Webb dies
Carolyn Jones, Chronicle Staff Writer San Francisco Chronicle August 1, 2010 04:00 AM http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/08/01/BAT51EMK47.DTL http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?f=/c/a/2010/08/01/BAT51EMK47.DTL&o=0 Jack Webb served as grand marshal of San Francisco's St. Patrick's Day parade in 1995. John Burton's father once told him, "There are only two cops I like. One is in Detroit and the other is Jack Webb." Inspector Webb, a retired San Francisco police officer who championed the underdog, whether they were Irish fugitives, union laborers, farmworkers or crime victims, died June 29 at his Sebastopol home of lung cancer. He was 79. "Jack was a good, decent but tough guy," said Burton, a former congressman and state Senate leader who now heads the California Democratic Party. "He was a great fighter for freedom, especially in the North of Ireland." Inspector Webb was born in San Francisco and grew up in the Excelsior, graduating from Sacred Heart high school and San Francisco State University. His father, John "Spider" Webb, was a battalion chief for the San Francisco Fire Department who was killed in the line of duty in 1950, in part prompting Inspector Webb to pursue a career in law enforcement, his family said. He served more than 20 years on the police force, ending his career as an inspector after helping solve some of the city's most celebrated cases. Among the criminals he helped catch were the Bay Bandit, who left a calling card at the site of jewelry heists and once escaped from the Berkeley jail, and the Hammer Man, who murdered a series of taxi drivers in the 1960s, said Inspector Webb's son, Dennis Webb. He was stabbed in the stomach once when responding to a domestic violence call, Webb said. "So he put cuffs on the guy and then called the ambulance," his son said. After retiring in the 1970s, Inspector Webb opened a private investigation firm, taking on such clients as the Hearst family when daughter Patty was holed up with the Symbionese Liberation Army. He also helped crack a high-profile case involving a 9-year-old twin boy, son of a Spanish ruling family, who was kidnapped by his father in Menlo Park, Webb said. Between car chases and gumshoe detective work, Inspector Webb opened Ireland's 32 bar on Geary Street, which became a gathering spot for San Francisco's Irish, Irish American and Irish-admiring community. The saloon's name is a reference to Ireland's 32 counties, including the six in Northern Ireland. It was one of San Francisco's only bars with a union staff. Among those who came to Ireland's 32 seeking camaraderie and assistance was Kevin Artt, a Northern Ireland nationalist who escaped the British while serving a life sentence for allegedly killing an English prison warden - a crime Artt said he did not commit. Through Inspector Webb, Artt found work, housing and a foothold in his new country. Eventually Britain dropped efforts to extradite Artt, and he made a home in the Bay Area. "Jack was my hero," Artt said. "I was terrified when I first got here, but he took me under his wing and treated me like his own flesh and blood. It wasn't just the Irish he helped, it was farmworkers, ex-prisoners, anyone who was exploited or persecuted." Inspector Webb was also active in local Catholic schools, volunteering endless hours at St. Ignatius, St. Gabriel and other institutions, Dennis Webb said. In 1995 he served as grand marshal of San Francisco's St. Patrick's Day parade. "He was just a warm and passionate man," his son said. "He'd give you the shirt off his back." Inspector Webb is survived by his wife, Beverly; brother, Richard; five children; and four grandchildren. Donations can be sent to the Widows and Orphans Aid Association of the San Francisco Police Department, P.O. Box 880034, San Francisco, CA 94188. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World News Now Discussion List" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wnndl?hl=en.
