William “Scott” Hedrick passed away peacefully on November 3, 2013, after a brief, but courageous battle with cancer. He was 68. Scott was surrounded by family and close friends during this difficult time, and supported by the outstanding medical teams at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Scott was a fourth-generation member of a California family well known in the community of Santa Paula and neighboring Simi Valley for their citrus properties and community involvement. His grandfather, Benjamin Hedrick, was a founder of Citizens State Bank of Santa Paula and was the mayor of Santa Paula in 1939. Scott was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 23, 1945, to Betty and Sanger Hedrick and went to local public schools before attending Menlo College and UC Santa Barbara. He was a medic in the U.S. Air Force Reserves and completed his post-graduate work at the USC School of Business in 1970.
He began his professional career with Bank of America’s Small Business Enterprise Company. In 1974, he became a partner in American-Euro Interfund, and in 1979 he co-founded InterWest Partners, a highly regarded, diversified venture capital firm.
Scott helped guide numerous small business enterprises from concept to successful, publicly traded companies. He served as a director for many them, including the Office Club, Office Depot, Il Fornaio, Tetra Technologies, Golden State Vintners, Hot Topic, Noodles & Company, Vintage Wine Trust and the Capital Group Companies. He was on the Board of Directors of the National Venture Capital Association, and was a lecturer at the graduate schools of business at Stanford University, Pepperdine University and the University of Oregon. Beyond being a successful businessman, educator and mentor, he was always acknowledged for his exemplary ethics and his sense of fair play.
Scott was an avid outdoorsman. His competitive spirit and close friendships found him fly-fishing the great rivers of Argentina, Chile, New Zealand, Idaho and Montana, as well as the mighty McCloud River in Northern California. Scott thrived on the camaraderie and competition of golf. He was a proud member of the San Francisco Golf Club, the Valley Club of Montecito and the Stock Farm Club in Hamilton, Montana. As a player, he excelled and was a sought-after partner in countless member-guest tournaments.
He will best be remembered for his love of family and friends, and as a generous and kind man who readily shared his many gifts. Among his greatest joys were time with family, friends and puppies at Lake Tahoe, walking his dogs along the beaches of Santa Barbara, and cruising around Lake Tahoe in his vintage wooden boat. A masterful storyteller, he enjoyed sharing his well-known sense of humor, especially with his cherished grandchildren. His sense of fairness and ability to touch the lives of others in a profound and meaningful way were hallmarks of his character.
Scott was devoted to his wife, Mer, and her children, to his four boys and their wives and significant others, and to his grandchildren. His legacy to his family and friends is treasured, and he will be remembered for the qualities that made him so special: kind, polite, generous, enthusiastic, playful, warm and endearingly sentimental, with an unsurpassed sense of humor and a touch of the mischievous.
Scott is survived by his wife, Mer James, stepchildren Chelsea Sheehan and Madison and Austin Stranahan; sons Todd (Catherine), Carter (Erin), Devin (Carina) and Brad; siblings Sandy, Patricia Duncan (Lansing) and John; former wife Corinne (Jim); and grandchildren Palmer, Crosby, Eloise, Bailey and Quinn. Scott was pre-deceased by his parents and his beloved golden retriever, Piper.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Scott’s memory can be made to Direct Relief, 27 S. La Patera Lane, Goleta, Calif. 93117; the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, 2320 Bath St., Suite 107, Santa Barbara, Calif. 93105; or the Koegel Autism Center, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, UC Santa Barbara, Calif. 93106-9490.