Peter Owen Shea Sr., the last survivor of three engineers who built a multibillion-dollar construction and homebuilding business in their grandfather’s name, died Monday, Oct. 23, at his Newport Beach home after a “fierce and courageous fight” against Parkinson’s disease. He was 88.
Shea had served as vice president of Walnut-based J.F. Shea Co., the successor to a plumbing and heavy construction firm his grandfather, John Francis Shea, founded in 1881 in Portland, Oregon.
A company statement said Shea was most comfortable in khaki pants, a buttoned-down blue shirt and muddy boots, which he used to walk construction sites.
“While Peter was a man of few words, he enjoyed connecting with people and deeply valued gathering with family and his loyal community of golfing, bridge-playing, or neighborhood friends,” the company said.
The original company was a leader in the construction industry that worked on the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco Bay Bridge, the Hoover Dam and the Interstate Highway System.
In 1961, Shea joined his cousin John Shea and older brother Edmund Shea Jr. as co-owner of the newly dissolved and reincorporated J.F. Shea Co. Shea later served as president of the conglomerate’s heavy construction subsidiary, J.F. Shea Construction, focusing on tunneling and large infrastructure projects.
In the following years, J.F. Shea Co. branched out into homebuilding, commercial real estate development and venture capital investing.
Founded in 1968, Shea Homes built more than 123,000 homes in 11 states, according to the company. Builder Magazine’s latest ranking listed the Los Angeles County company as the nation’s 27th biggest homebuilder in 2022, with 3,428 homes sold and $2.98 billion in total revenue.
The family’s commercial real estate arm, Shea Properties of Aliso Viejo, owns and operates about 10,000 apartments and 6 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space in California, Colorado, and Washington, the…
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