James Scheinfeld

Milwaukee native James D. Scheinfeld died at his home in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Dec. 8, of pancreatic cancer. He was 81.

According to his family, Scheinfeld’s life goal was to “make a difference,” and he derived his greatest satisfaction from his charitable work.

Following his retirement in 1985, Scheinfeld moved to Santa Barbara where he took up numerous charitable causes. He served as the director and president of the board of The Foundation for Santa Barbara City College, chairman of the board of the Sansum Clinic, director and president of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, and was a member of the Health and Human Services Committee of the Santa Barbara Foundation and the Rotary Club of Montecito.

Scheinfeld worked tirelessly to develop and establish a permanent endowment for the Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation Program at Santa Barbara City College, according to his family. The Board of Trustees of the College recently voted unanimously to name the program after him.

Scheinfeld enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and served in the battle to secure Okinawa and in the occupation of Japan. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Asia Pacific medal, with one star.

Following the war, Scheinfeld graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a major in labor economics.

Scheinfeld’s father, Aaron, co-founded the temporary help firm Manpower, Inc., in 1948. James Scheinfeld worked with the company from the beginning, working his way up to C.O.O. by 1965. Between that time and 1976, when it was acquired by Parker Pen, he was responsible for building half of the company’s revenue and profit via its international operations. By the time of the acquisition, he had helped Manpower open over 1,000 offices in 32 countries and earn revenues in excess of $1 billion annually, his family said.

Following the acquisition, Scheinfeld established four companies; one of them being Travelpower, Inc., a travel agency with 20 full service chains throughout Wisconsin. In December 1984, Scheinfeld sold Travelpower to Ask Mr. Foster (now Carlson Wagonlit Travel).

Schneider’s family described him as a “gentle man with a sense of humor” who enjoyed fishing and international travel.

He is survived by wife, Elna Magnusson Scheinfeld, three children from a previous marriage, sons John Scheinfeld of Sherman Oaks, Calif., and Robert Scheinfeld of Charlottesville, Va.; daughter Shaina Noll of Santa Fe, N.M.; brother Daniel Scheinfeld of Chicago; sister Ruth Pollack of Washington, D.C.; and four grandchildren.

A public celebration, “Remembering Jim Scheinfeld” will be held at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara on Jan. 7.

The family appreciates donations in his honor to the James D. Scheinfeld Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation Program, Santa Barbara City College, 721 Cliff Drive, Santa Barbara, CA, 93105; or Sansum Medical Clinic, P.O. Box 1200, Santa Barbara, CA, 93102.